Uprising
by Zombie Genocider
Summary: Not much to do with Resident Evil. Stand alone story about survivors in the Midwest trying to withstand the tensions and dangers during the outbreak of a horrific virus... Rate and Review if you enjoy.
1. Perfect Conditions

**Uprising**

Chapter 1

"**Perfect Conditions"**

To say that it was a nice day was an understatement. The late June weather in Lincoln, Nebraska was unseasonably cool, but perfect for those who relish the outdoors. 75 degrees, sunny with a just a brush of clouds across the sky. These were the types of days Josh lived for.

He finally flicked off the television after realizing the beauty the day had undertook. It was late evening and Josh knew what he had to do. He had the house to himself, his brother gone and his parents out for a weekend concert. This was the first time in his 16 year existence that his parents trusted him to take care of things by himself for an extended period of time. Not that they had much to worry about.

Josh wasn't like most other kids his age, most kids would be licking their chops with their folks out of the house looking to throw some wild party, but this wasn't the way Josh was. He was reserved, yet confident. His 5'10'' frame didn't carry a whole lot of weight, no more than 150 pounds but most of that was muscle. He was strong for his size. Josh wasn't a jock, but he did love sports. This was obvious, he had an athletic frame.

Josh rifled through the pantry and pulled out a granola bar before getting to business. He flipped on the radio and raced down to the basement to grab his rod and reel. Josh was an avid fisherman, taking every golden opportunity he could get, and converting that into time on the water. His love of fishing reflected his personality, he enjoyed the peace and quite.

"Perfect" he muttered to himself as he opened the garage door and gazed at the prime conditions.

He quickly packed his gear into the back of his Mitsubishi SUV and ripped open the driver's side door. He was on his way.

The drive to the lake was brief, as always. It was only a five minute drive from his house through the beautiful neighborhoods that surrounded it. Josh began to think while he drove; that was another thing, Josh was a thinker. He thought everything through thoroughly, no matter how minuscule it may have seemed. This was both an advantage and a disadvantage, when you constantly expect the unexpected, its logical to say that he was rarely truly surprised. In the same regard, he was rarely pleasantly surprised either.

Josh thought about his family: his parents, how they had finally given him the responsibility he deserved, and his brother who was to be coming home soon from a trip of his own. He thought about how quiet things had been, this was the first real time he had left the house in several days. And finally, he remembered what he had seen on the six o'clock news that day, about the riots that where spreading in several small towns in northern Nebraska.

Just as the SUV wheeled into the small gravel parking lot near the lake, Josh felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He groped around struggling to find it among a pack of gum and some change. He looked at the screen, it was his buddy Jordan. This was typical.

"Hello" he said in a slightly aggravated tone.

"Hey big guy, what up?" Jordan was sort of an opposite to Josh, he was outgoing to say the least.

"Uhhh not too much really. Just gonna try fishing I think."

"Thanks for inviting me you douche." Jordan replied sarcastically. The two chuckled. The truth was, Josh actually preferred to fish alone.

Jordan continued. "Hey dude you wanna go get something to eat?"

"Nah man, I already ate." He in fact was very hungry but couldn't tear himself away from the lake.

"Whatever dude." Jordan said with a hint of dejection. " I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Alright see ya." Josh was relieved to be off the phone, for some reason, he had no intention of being social at the moment.

The lake was very calm, the weather still flawless. There was absolutely no wind, not even a breeze. The water was like glass. But, Josh did notice something peculiar about the water. It had a strange rust colored tint to it. He had never seen it like this, it was normally a brackish green color.

Josh didn't think too much of the situation, after all the sun was going to set soon and he had no intention of wasting such a beautiful day. He tied on his signature lure right off the bat, he wasn't messing around, he was here to catch fish. Josh lightly gripped his Shakespeare rod, flipped the bale, and with a slight flick of the wrist tossed the line 25 feet from the shore.

After several more casts he finally hooked into the first fish of the night, and from the amount of drag it pulled out, it was a big son of a bitch.

"Ohh yes sir!" Josh yelled as he pulled the 20 inch large-mouth bass ashore.

He grabbed the tape measure to make sure. His instincts were right, the bass was 21 inches, a fine specimen from this lake. This was the adrenaline rush that had Josh hooked on the sport. He proceeded to unhook the monstrous creature and really began to appreciate the oddness of the it. The normally green and white shade that the fish sported was now the same rust color of the water, almost red. The eyes that were normally black, were pale white and the slime that covered the fish began to stink. The fish was more docile than usual as well. Normally, the fish would thrash about, but this fish just stayed limp and let off a dull groan, one that Josh had never heard before.

As the night progressed, and the sun slowly crept below the tree line, Josh was catching more and more bass that were exactly like the first. 10 in all, exactly identical and exactly contrary to what he had previously know about the fish. He was baffled and couldn't put his finger on the situation, it was very troubling.

Maybe it wasn't the fish that were as troubling as the quiet. This lake was adjacent to a nearby highway and the roars of the engines from the road were easily audible. But no sound like it was distinct on this night. He packed up his gear back into the trunk and took one last gaze upon the lake. What was once a beautiful day had morphed into a surprisingly eerie night.

Josh's headlights cut through the darkness on the ride home, none of the house lights around seemed to be on and the street lights were systematically beginning to flicker and die. The anxiety was starting to brew in his gut, he nervously tapped the gas pedal a little harder and came speeding around a corner. It was too late. He slammed his brakes with all his might but still crushed into a dog crossing the road. The car jolt onto the curb with surprising force bashing Josh's head against the headrest. He put the car in park and felt a deep pit in his stomach. He loved dogs, the thought that he had killed one almost made him sick.

Josh found the dog, a border collie, lying limp in the center of the street. It was odd, the commotion had drawn no neighbors out to investigate, most everything stayed dark. He walked over to the dog and saw the blood forming a pool around the gentle creature. He was almost drawn to tears, he knew he'd killed it. _How could he have let this happen?_

He decided to walk across the street to the light brick house in which he assumed the dog lived. Like every other house on the block, it was dark inside. He banged on the door, fighting back tears. No answer. He waited a few seconds and proceeded to knock. Still no answer. He crawled over the wooden rail on the porch and tried to peer in the window. What he saw was something you would expect to see in war zone or a crime scene. There were boards covering the window, and after further investigation, he found that every window in the house was barricaded. He frantically ran across the street and was astounded. The majority of the homes on the block were completely barricaded as if it there was a threat of nuclear war or something.

"What the Hell…" Josh let these words out, he couldn't stop it. He was starting to panic. All he wanted to do was get the hell home. He put his hands on the back of his head and let out a sigh.

"Alright buddy, I'm so sorry but I gotta…." Josh stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around in a frenzy, darting his head left and right. The dog was gone.

He raced back to the house he had first tried and searched the yard.

"Not possible. Not possible." Josh muttered. "You were dead." "NOT POSSIBLE!" The air became thick with a stench, it smelled like rotten fish or meat. Josh continued to search the bushes and the scent began to grow stronger and stronger… and then came the growl, similar to the one the fish was making but louder and more distinguished. Josh whipped around.

"Hooollly Shit!… no no no…"

The dog was limping closer and closer, wounds still fresh, but there was no longer a trace of blood streaming from them. It's eyes were reddish with a deep, pale center to the them and it was foaming a thick dark scum from the corners of it's mouth. Its hair was beginning to fall out and the beast was headed straight for him. It looked rabid to Josh, but that was impossible, he smashed the dog head on at 35 mph, there was no way it could have survived.

"Nice dog, hey hey stop." Josh's voice was quivering slightly with fear.

The dog did not stop, Josh continued to back up until he was against the hood of his car. The dog was not running, at least not yet. It was pursuing him with a menacing shuffle. The dog's jaws began to snap uncontrollably. He was out of options. Josh reached around to his back pocket, he continued to fumble looking for his Swiss army knife. The dog's jaws were mere inches from his face, it's paws now suddenly pressing on his chest. The knife flipped open and he swiftly jabbed the blade straight between the demon dog's eyes. The growl was shrill and brief and the dog stumbled to a heap on the ground. Josh's heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life.

"I'm outta here." He jumped into the car and sped all the way home. The radio stations were impossible to decipher over the heavy static. What he could make out was a series of tones with an automated voice, similar to one you would hear during a tornado warning.

He ran inside the dark house and locked every door and window in the place. He pulled every drape, every curtain possible and then flopped on the recliner in his living room. His worried eyes were fixated on the floor in a trance of deep thought and anxiety.

When he finally snapped out of it, he flicked on a lamp and did his best to relax. This unsuccessful attempt at alleviation was interrupted when he turned on the T.V. It was the emergency alert message continuously running across the screen, it was on every single channel. Josh sat up slowly from the chair, a blank expression of uncertainty on his face, and carefully pulled the curtain away from the window. He gazed out apprehensively. _What the hell was going on…_


	2. Beginning is the End is the Beginning

**Uprising**

**Chapter 2:**

**The Beginning is the End is the Beginning**

His eyes opened and He saw the destruction. It was all around Him. A year ago He had been afraid of what He had seen. Now it was just another part of everyday life. He knew this…this scenario like the back of His hand. Every bit of the landscape memorized and explored. He knew it all, recognized it all. Yet after all this time He understood none of it. He stretched his body from head to toe. He felt his muscles tighten as He raised his arms up to full reach and then brought them down. He accepted that, for a time, He could not fight this scenario but instead let it play out for as long as it felt. Accepting something and enjoying it are two very different things though.

He craned his head upwards and looked upon the marvel that were the buildings that could scrape the sky. The scenario was always the same but He just couldn't get over the skyscrapers. They were something He had never 'actually' seen before. He gazed for a few more moments, taking in all the details He already knew were there, looking for something he had possibly missed. He did this every time He had to deal with the scenario and after about 6 months He stopped finding new details. Just more of the same. He brought His head back towards the earth letting His eyes stare down at the cracked pavement and the small shrubs that had begun to grow out from them. There were 41 shrubs. He had counted.

He looked to his left only to see the usual empty lot with a lone Wilson basketball resting against a cinder block near the center of the lot. Always the same. He cracked a smile. For a whole year He had been experiencing this exact scenario, over and over always the same, and He always seemed to look left first. Always had to see the empty lot with the ball and the block. It was after all THE scenario. He hadn't had others for a year. It was the singular place of escape for Him and He dreaded and hated every second of it. He ran his hand through His hair and looked off to the right. Here there was something, not much but a something nonetheless. He read the sign though He knew it by heart:

**Sam's Delectable Deli: Good Eats, Good People, Good Times**

It was a ridiculous advertisement, but humble and heartfelt all the same. He probably would have eaten at Sam' Delectable Deli had He not only seen or heard of it in the scenario. He had looked too. He had done a Google search after every scenario and still had yet to find a Sam's Delectable Deli shop anywhere in the U.S. He supposed it was possible that He had just imagined the store and it didn't exist at all. But in this lonely, desolate scenario it was all He had to go on. And it was lonely here…but the time of the lonely portion of the scenario was almost…

A bird cawed from an unseen location far off in the depths of the scenario and He jumped for the first time in quite a while. The bird hadn't caught Him off guard in He couldn't remember how many months. He may have been startled but He knew what it always meant. His eyes followed what was left of the yellow paint from the lane lines on the road as the ascended up a hill. The hill was huge to say the least. From His point of view at the foot of it the hill seemed to rise up to the 14th story of the skyscrapers that sat at either side of Him. His eyes continued to climb until they reached their destination. The only remaining mystery of the scenario. At the top of the hill stood a man.

All the features of the mystery man were unidentifiable. He was nothing more than a silhouette against the sun that hung behind the man like a backdrop at a play. Even with the distance He could see the man's movements. The slight head cock to the left and then a wag of the finger as if to say 'no cookies before dinner.' He hated this portion of the scenario but the weirdest came immediately after the finger wag. From behind the man trotted four horses. Atop the horse farthest to the right rode a fox. The oddity was that all of them seemed to be transparent, the only thing giving them shape was a black outline which made it look like they had crawled out of a comic book. The only color they had was that of the pavement or the bright yellow sun that shone behind them…except this scenario WAS different. He hadn't noticed before but the sun had changed. It wasn't yellow is was…black? The light began to fade and the man, now surrounded by his animals, rose his arms above his head and seemed to embrace the darkness and want to hold it forever. Something grabbed His shoulder. Nothing ever grabbed His shoulder. No one ever came down the hill. He turned and saw another man but this one He not only saw, but smelt. It reeked of death and rotten food and its face seemed to be decaying. It lunged towards Him.

**…**

"WHOA, HEY JACOB WAKE UP MAN!"

Jacob's eyelids flicked open in a flash, revealing the blue-green color of the iris hidden beneath them. The unannounced wake-up call startled Jacob to the point that he began to lash out in fear. His arms whipped wildly to and fro but not connecting with anything but the cool, air conditioned area that his arms could reach.

"Easy Jacob, relax. It's me Derek. You fell asleep at the airport."

The voice traveled from lips to ears and Jacob's violent flailing diminished. He eyes shot around the large waiting area at Omaha Nebraska's Eppley Airport, taking in the people passing by, a few he noticed were examining him with worried looks. He ran his right hand through his short brown hair, as was his nervous habit, and began to laugh. "Sorry I guess I was having a bad dream. Didn't hit ya did I?"

"Nope but you came damn close," Derek replied with a grin that the two now shared "Let me guess… it was the same dream you've been complaining about since last summer right." The last part wasn't a question. Derek knew the answer was yes.

"Look Derek I know it's stupid but it isn't like I can just tell myself before I fall asleep at night 'Jacob tonight you will not have that awful dream, you will have a dream about a unicorn that shits cute kitties' is it?" Jacob stared at Derek with a serious face and watched slowly as Derek's seriousness slowly broke into a laughter.

"Given a choice between that or the destroyed city with a horse wrangler.." Derek sputtered in between bouts of laughter "I honestly can't tell you which would disturb me more." He held out his hand to help Jacob up from the bench he had fallen asleep on. " Now are you gunna say good-bye to your best-friend before he leaves for boot camp or not?" Derek said.

"Where is everyone else?" Jacob asked, slapping Derek's hand aside and lifting himself up to full height. Standing next to each other it looked like a David vs. Goliath match-up with a little bit of each in both of them. Jacob stood at a whopping six feet, five inches while Derek stood at a solid six feet. The Goliath in Derek was his strength. He was much stronger than Jacob could ever imagine to be. His body showed his strength better than Jacob's did. Jacob was a lean machine. He weighed a shocking total of 170 pounds, oddly enough the same as what Derek weighed. Although Jacob was lean it didn't mean he was weak. He had stronger and more defined legs than Derek. He was more agile and quick than most at his size. This attribute helped him claim the spot of point guard on his basketball team and run sprints on the track team.

"Hello? Did you hear me?" Derek replied waving his arms in front of Jacob's face. This snapped him out of his odd David v Goliath comparison and back to reality.

"Nope sorry missed it." Jacob replied with his boyish grin still hanging from his face.

"I said," Derek started again, this time more exaggerated then the first time no doubt. "I said they already said there goodbyes and went to the car. I told them I would send you out after I found you and told you goodbye."

Jacob still had a smile on his face but it had changed from the boyish smile he wore while joking with friends to a more sincere one. In all honesty he was going to miss Derek quite a bit. He didn't say anything, just stepped forward and gave him a hug. Derek had befriended Jacob only 3 years ago but in that time Jacob found himself to be more comfortable around him then most others. To his other friends he hid the fact that he was a giant nerd because he assumed they would find him odd. Derek thought differently. He had said that Jacob shouldn't hide it. Different was good. Jacob, now lost in thought, didn't realize he was still engaged in a hug that was lasting way past the limits it should.

"Umm sweetheart Sassy can't breath," Derek gasped out.

Jacob smiled. That was another thing they had found they had in common. Both loved movies and would frequently quote them to each other. This one obviously from a childhood favorite _Homeward Bound._

"Sorry." He replied letting the hug end and stepping away. He didn't know what else to say.

"Jesus dude people are going to think we are 'partners' if you keep standing there like that," Derek replied, destroying the silence, "Even more so if you start crying."

"Don't flatter yourself." Jacob replied. He looked around knowing it was time to go. "Well I guess this is goodbye for 13 weeks."

"Yep…don't get yourself killed while I'm gone." Derek said back. He glanced down at his watch and looked back at Jacob. "Well…see ya in another life brotha."

"Jesus dude get out of here." Jacob laughed back in the response to the _LOST _reference. There were no more words. Derek just turned and walked to the TSA line and Jacob turned and walked out of the airport.

**…**

The light began to fade and the man, now surrounded by his animals, rose his arms above his head and seemed to embrace the darkness and want to hold it forever. Something grabbed His shoulder. Nothing ever grabbed His shoulder. No one ever came down the hill. He turned and saw another man but this one He not only saw, but smelt. It reeked of death and rotten food and its face seemed to be decaying. It lunged towards Him.

**…**

Jacob's head slammed against the passenger side window that he was resting his head on while he slept. His three other friends let out small hints of laughter as he rubbed his eyes and sore head at the same time.

"Rise and shine," the driver laughed, "We're almost to town..

The driver's name was Tyler Brummond. To friends Tyler was a decent guy but to anyone else who had either met him or pissed him off he was a douche and a total ass hole. There was no middle with this kid.

"I think a gentle tap would have been sufficient enough to lull me back to reality."

Jacob replied with a tinge of annoyance in his voice as Brummond just continued to laugh.

"Real douche move Brummond, real douche move," came another voice from the backseat. The voice came from the earliest friend Jacob had ever had, Ethan Warren. Ethan was the oldest of all of the residents of Brummond's Brown Chevy Tahoe. He was 20 and had already completed two years of college at a gold academy in Arizona. He had come back to Nebraska to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as were Jacob and Brummond.

"You got to admit Ethan it was a little satisfactory considering Jacob made us sit in the car outside the airport forever waiting for him," came the voice of another friend, Blake Bowland. Blake was the youngest one of the group of four boys and the only that would not be going to college next year. He would be a senior at the high school in their home town of Tekamah.

"Yeah you see it was justified," Brummond said as they entered the city limits. He looked back at the two, taking his eyes off the rode as he usually did. He grabbed the steering wheel with his left hand and put his right hand towards Blake, obviously wanting a high five.

"SHIT BRUMMOND WATCH OUT!" Ethan and Jacob screamed at the same time, narrowly missing a police officer that was order them to stop from the middle of the rode. Brummond cranked the wheel to the right to avoid the cop as he dove to the left and out of the way. The Tahoe jumped the curb, as the passengers in the car braced for impact, and sailed into a light pole.

No one was hurt, except for the car which had the hood bent up so no one could see in or out of the front windshield. Ethan and Blake fell out the back doors with ease, running to open the two front doors as Brummond and Jacob batted at the airbags that deployed. Blake helped Jacob out as Ethan helped Brummond. The cop that had almost been killed ran up to them.

"Jesus H Christ boys you could have killed us all," yelled the fat cop who was already out of breath from the short run from the street to the car. Brummond's famous attitude flared as the cop got closer

"What the FUCK were you doing in the rode? Huh?" Brummond yelled while gesturing with his hands madly in all directions.

"That's it boy. I ain't takin no lip today. Hands behind your back," the cop screamed back, pulling the cuffs from the clip on his belt.

"What? Whoa whoa I…"

"BRUMMOND JUST DO IT," came the combined yelling voices of Jacob, Ethan, and Blake. All three obviously upset that they had just been in an accident because of need to high five. Thirty seconds later was being cuffed and they were all crammed into the cop's vehicle.

"What were you doing in the street?" Jacob asked with a nicer tone as they watched Brummond get assisted to his seat in the back. The cop looked back at Jacob with a pissed look and for a brief second Jacob that he would be the next to add the cuffs to his wrist. Thankfully the cops pissed look washed away quick.

"There was a four semi pileup just up the road," the cop responded and gestured up the road. Sure enough he could see the back of a semi that had obviously fell on its side.

"Shit," Blake said as he got into the back seat next to the cuffed Brummond. Ethan jumped in the back quickly which meant Jacob would be riding shotgun with the fat cop.

The accident was six blocks up the rode and when they got there they were told by the cop to exit the vehicle because they would be hoofing it from here. They walked towards the accident which had gathered a crowd of 25-30 people. The cop waved for them to follow as they weaved through the crowd to the center. At the center were two paramedics and six body bags. Full body bags.

"Jesus," muttered the cop as he grabbed a handkerchief from his chest pocket and covered his mouth and nose, "Never in my life."

Jacob heard people behind him saying something about how none of the four truckers had been carrying any cargo. Apparently if four semi's drive through town chances are one or two should have cargo.

"Mommy mommy the bag moved they aren't hurt anymore!" shouted a little girl with excitement, probably thinking that she might be helping the cool doctors. The paramedics eyes, as with the eyes of everyone else, darted to the bags and sure enough there was movement in not one but two of them.

"Jesus Keith they're alive," shouted one of the paramedics as he ran for one of the moving bags, "Get all the others opened!"

The paramedic named Keith ran towards the other moving bags as the cop and three other good Samaritans ran to open the other bags just to be sure. The mystery paramedic reached his bag first and ripped it open…only to be grabbed by the woman inside it and pulled towards her. There was a scream followed by a gargling sound and then a streak of blood squirted from his neck. Keith, the cop, and the three other 'heroes' all opened there bags simultaneously and all met the same fate that the mystery paramedic had. In one fluid act of unity the entire group screamed in terror at once.

People ran in all directions in a panic as the six bodies slowly struggled out of their bags. The mystery paramedic was on his feet to now but something was odd. Jacob noticed he had no color, none of them did. Jacob and his friends looked at each other and turned and ran back towards the cop's vehicle.

They reached the vehicle but the window to the driver side door was busted out. Someone was already here and the car obviously was of no use if the person who beat them here had left it. Jacob looked down an alley and notice at least four more of those things struggling up towards Main Street.

"Jesus there are more of them?" Ethan exclaimed with terror filling his voice.

"What the fuck are we going to do?" Blake screamed aloud so the other three could hear him over the sounds of the panic all around them. Before anyone could answer they heard a man yell out.

"GET TO THE AUDITORIUM. IT IS SAFE FROM THE GHOULS!"

They didn't need to be told twice. They turned and ran towards the auditorium. The building was only two blocks from where they were and from the looks of it many others were on their way there as well. There were much more people out in the streets now then there had been at the scene of the accident. As they ran Jacob stole a look back at the pileup. The only thing that remained were six empty body bags. No bodies.

They reached the Auditorium a little later than they could have. They ran slower on the count that Brummond still had his hands cuffed behind his back. They burst through the doors with five things hot on their heels. Three men slammed the solid doors behind them and barred it. Two other men carried over a heavy table and propped it against the doors as well. They were the last ones in and they could hear the pounding fists of those monsters wanting to get in. Wanting to feed. That wasn't what scared Jacob though. It was his dream. The dream he had been having for a year. It changed for the first time today. The thing that grabbed him in the dream looked, and smelt, just like the monsters on the other side of the door.

"What…the fuck…are those things?" gasped Brummond, who was now laying on his side because he had fallen through the door and couldn't get up by himself.

"I'll tell you what they are…they are a sign…a signal." An African-American man emerged from the crowd wearing dress pants, a white button up shirt and a blue tie that had been loosened at the neck. The man was clutching a King James Bible. Jacob guessed this guy was Reggie Walker, Tekamah's own hardcore bible thumper. Many people in the small community were religious but Walker took it to a new level. The only time he left his house was to attend church. He was a nut.

"A sign of what Reggie?" A man from the crowd asked, with fear and a little annoyance in his voice. Who would want to hear the opinions of a mad man at a time like this.

"A sign from God!" Reggie screamed as he smashed his index finger against the bible in his hands. "The end of days is upon us. The apocalypse is here. WHEN THERE IS NO MORE ROOM IN HELL…the dead shall walk the earth."


	3. A Blue Collar Hero

**Uprising**

**Chapter 3**

**A Blue Collar Hero**

The soft, coolness of the leather-back recliner wasn't enough to calm Josh down, nothing was. The events of the night had taken him by surprise and he was having trouble coping with the situation. He sat up from the chair and felt the cool air blowing from the ceiling fan above. His mind was racing, his thoughts were panicked. What could be going on? Josh thought about the fish, the smell, the barricades, the dog, and most of all, the stillness. He continued to think at a hundred miles an hour. He began to come to conclusions._ Disease. Biological warfare. Science experiments gone wrong._ At any rate this was bound to be something incredibly distressing.

He walked again across the hardwood floors of the kitchen, the sounds of the alert message still buzzing in the background. He lifted the phone off the receiver and listened anxiously. The tones were gone. It was eerily silent, just like everything else. He dropped the phone on the counter and ran his hands through his tousled, brown hair. The phone lines were down. He ripped the receiver out of the wall and threw it across the kitchen floor.

He looked back out the window and scanned the area once more. Not much had changed. There were four houses that surrounded the cul-de-sac he was viewing, his house included. All the homes were dark. Usually, there were at least two cars lining the sides of the circle at a time, they too were nowhere to be found. He began to wonder once more. How serious did the situation have to be, if everyone was buying into it so quickly? Then suddenly, his attention was drawn to the highest window of the third house from his. A faint light was easily visible through the blinds that covered the window. This was Grinestaff's house.

Josh knew of Paul Grinestaff better than most of his neighbors. He was an ardent fisherman, but that wasn't why he knew so much about him. About five months back Paul's wife died of breast cancer. It took the combined efforts of his remaining family members and his neighbors to pull him out of the deep pit of grief he had fallen into. During that time, Josh's family spent several awkward, yet touching hours with Paul as he was grieving the loss of the woman he loved most. Josh had promised to go fishing with him this summer. Things weren't looking so good anymore.

The light from Paul's window was unmoving and it gave Josh a small sense of hope. He began to let go of some of his anxiety. He felt the relief of that pressure leaving his mind, if only for a short time.

As he was gazing out the window, staring at his "saving light", his pocket began to buzz. He nearly stumbled backward and was shocked back into reality. He reached his hand again into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Jordan was calling again. This time the circumstances were much different, not only was Josh eager to pick up the call, he hoping for it. He let it continue to vibrate in his palm for several seconds, processing the situation. He finally answered.

"Hey Jordan, how are you. Are you okay? Where are you?" Josh's voice was stronger now, the call had taken away more of his fears. Not only did it let him know that he wasn't the only person left on the face of the planet, but it also told him that at least some of the cell phone towers were still functional.

" Hey dude, I'm comin' over." Jordan's voice on the other hand was blank and lifeless, it was obvious something had him unsettled. "Dude have you been out tonight? I mean I know you've been at the lake but it's fuckin' weird out here. It's like nobody's around."

Josh's hopes began to plummet once more. " Yeah I know, things are very odd tonight. It's actually kind of scary. Listen Jordan, are you ok? Where have you been tonight?"

"I'm driving dude. I'm ok right now, I don't know, there's like no cars on the road right now, the last car I passed was like fuckin' 30 minutes ago. The radio's out too."

Josh was frustrated. "I know but what have you been doing?" Josh felt like he was talking to someone who was years younger than he, when in fact Jordan was only months younger. But this was nothing new to Josh. Jordan acting like an idiot was fairly commonplace.

"Well, I went to eat at Taco Bell and like I said it was weird. I was the only one in there and the guy operating the register made me leave so he could lock up. Dude it was only like 7:30. And then I went to the high school baseball tournament at Sherman to see some games but when I got there everyone had pretty much left and things had already been cancelled for like no reason. It was pretty deserted dude. Then I went home to relax and…"

Josh interrupted. "Jordan, you need to just get over here. We can talk about things more when you get here….. you just need to get here."

"I know, I'm like three minutes away."

Josh sighed again. " Alright. Better hurry, I've got some things to tell you."

He pressed the end button again and things were quiet. He was thrilled to have someone else in this with him, but the thought that everything was going dark was again a troubling notion. He reached into the top cupboard and pulled out a candy bar. He sat down at the kitchen table and again went into a blank trance, mind concentrated on the situation, still trying to piece things together. The dog crept back into his thoughts. He relived the horrific experience in his mind and still had no conception on what had really happened. He thought about his parents, his family. _Were they ok? Were they safe? Was this happening everywhere?_ He had seen his fair share of science fiction and doomsday movies, but in his mind nothing like that was ever going to happen. But, when he really deliberated what was going on, those notions didn't seem as far off as he had first thought.

As he finished his candy bar, someone began to bang on the front door. Josh was startled for no apparent reason, he knew exactly who it was. For some reason the whole situation made him jumpy. He got up and raced over to the front door. He looked out the side window. Things were still astonishingly dark, without the light of the street lights he couldn't exactly make out if it was Jordan or not. But, as of now Jordan and he were the only two people left on the earth to his knowledge. He flicked open the deadbolt latch and opened the door. Jordan barreled in and Josh shut the door quickly behind, flicking the lock once more.

"Jordan" Josh said with a relieved tone.

"Hey buddy." Jordan was breathing heavily, his face was slightly pale, but the wry smile was still there. Jordan was similar in height and size to Josh. He was a little heavier than Josh. He was thick. Not fat, yet not muscular. His head was covered with a thin layer of buzz cut hair and he was sporting the usual Los Angeles Dodgers authentic baseball cap, flat billed of course.

"God am I glad to see you Josh. It's like fuckin' 2012 out there." Jordan laughed to himself but quickly stopped himself after realizing how serious Josh was.

"Come on dude, lets go into the living room." Jordan nodded and they walked through the kitchen and sat on the two adjacent recliners in the living room staring at a blank flat screen television.

"Lets get some T.V. on here." Jordan prompted Josh eagerly.

" There's no point, it's just like that tornado alert message type thing goin' on. Its all blank, just like the radio."

"Yeah dude, this is some weird shit." This was the first time Jordan's voice contained a true hint of unrest. " So was it all weird out by the lake? Did you figure anything out? Talk to anyone else? Bod? TC?"

"No" Josh leaned his head back against the leather. " No answer." He didn't even try to contact anyone else. He feared that there truly WOULD BE no answer. He took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Jordan all about the events that had taken place. About the fish, the barricades, the dog. When he finished, Jordan was stiff and attentive. He looked at his feet and then back up at Josh.

"Shit dude. Were you sure the dog was dead? I mean it could've just been injured."

"No Jordan, I know it was dead. I just don't see how there was anyone way it could've survived that. Josh paused and again began to think. " Anyways, it's sure as hell dead now."

Jordan's smile returned. " That's good at least. So do you have any idea what the barricades or whatever you were saying, do you have any idea what those could've been for."

"Not a clue my friend. Not a clue."

"Those damn Soviets." Jordan again chuckled at his own joke and this time Josh let himself join in. It felt good, to the both of them, to be able to laugh together.

"But seriously Jordan what if it's like biological warfare or disease or something. I mean think about it, neither you or me have been out these last few days and this kind of shit is probably quick acting anyways." Josh let his head dip a bit as his despair returned. "The worst part about it is everyone else has either skipped town, or holed up or something, I don't even know…. and we're stuck here with our heads up our asses with absolutely no clue about what the hell is going on."

"I know whatcha mean bro." Jordan opened his mouth as if he had something more to say, but he couldn't find the words. Things went silent for several seconds, both boys trying to piece things together.

Jordan broke the silence. "Well alright let's just calm down a bit an relax, lay low for awhile. No sense gettin' our fuckin' brains in a knot. My parents are at my bro's house outta town, I think they're staying overnight. Might as well just chill. Its ok if I just stay tonight right?"

Josh thought for a few more seconds. He knew it was best to just stick together tonight and see things through. He got up from the chair and Jordan immediately got up as well. " Yeah dude your right, just stay tonight." His mood began to calm once more. "I think the company will do us both some good."

"Yeah dude just like the old days. Slumber party baby." Like always, Jordan was again quick to chuckle at his own joke and Josh let a smile roll across his face as well.

Jordan began to saunter over to the pantry and opened the door with surprising force, his hand obviously shaking. "Come on lets get some food goin here," Jordan said with a fake aura of excitement. He began to rummage through numerous boxes, cans, and bags in the pantry. Jordan was no stranger to rummaging through other peoples things. Everywhere he went, he treated it like home.

"Take it easy bud, its just food." Josh had wandered over to the pantry himself. He put his hand on Jordan's shoulder. "Are you ok. Really. Are you ok?"

"Yeah Josh I'm fine, I'm just fucking fine!" Jordan's eyes began to well up. He rested his back against the counter and began to slowly slide down.

"Hey… don't worry…"There was a large bang outside that was familiar. A second bang. The sound was a loud crack, to the untrained ear it could've been mistaken for a firecracker but to Josh and Jordan it couldn't have been more clear.

"What the hell." Jordan jumped up from the floor and raced to the back door. He tore opening the blinds and unlatched the double locks.

"Jordan where the hell are you going? Just stay in here it's no big deal."

Jordan turned back and looked back at Josh. His eyes were as serious as Josh had ever seen them. "When someone fires a gun it's a big deal." He proceeded to shuffle down the steps of the porch and over to where the gunshots originated. Josh shook his head and ran after. Jordan was standing in the middle of the circle pointing at Paul's house, the top floor.

"Look dude the lights on, someone's gotta be there." Jordan again began to move towards the house. The darkness was palpable, as was the tension. The two jogged anxiously across the pavement, the patter of their tennis shoes the only audible sound for miles.

By the time they reached the house, the garage light had turned on, and when they approached the front door the garage door slow began to slowly slide open.

"Hey!" a muffled voice carried and startled the boys. "Hey what are you guys doing out here! Are you ok? Josh grabbed Jordan and pulled him back towards the garage door and the sound.

"Yeah were fine. Paul? Is that you?" Josh peered around the corner of the garage and saw a man in gleam of the overhead lights. He couldn't make out if it was Paul or not. The man was built strong, at least six foot four. His arms were thick and strong.

"Yeah, sure is." What the hell are you boys still doin here." The man began to walk out of the light and closer to them. It was Paul, there was no longer a doubt. His voice was familiar, strong and raspy. He carried himself well for a man in his early fifties, he could have easily been mistaken for younger than his age. He was wearing worn khaki work pants and plain charcoal gray t-shirt. He had a surgical mask covering his mouth and nose, undoubtedly the reason his voice was muffled at first notice.

"Why in God's name haven't you guys left yet? Huh? Where are your parents? Your family?"

Josh stepped forward and looked up at Paul, his eyes were all business. "Paul what in the hell is going on? Where is everyone? What the hell is the mask for? "

"Jesus you guys really don't know? Paul ran is hand through his hair and grabbed in his pocket. He pulled out two more surgical masks and gave them to Jordan and Josh. "Here, take these." Josh and Jordan gave each other puzzled looks but did what the man told them, they slipped the masks over their ears and across their faces. "Shits hit the fan." Paul said again as he picked up the 12 gauge shotgun that was resting against the tool bench.

Josh spoke up. "Again Paul, I ask. What..is going..on?"

"Well, some virus picking up or something, didn't think there would be much to worry about but now things ain't lookin' too good. Supermutation or something. Didn't you guys see the messages they started playing hours ago. National guard and everything." Paul look back past the boys as if he'd seen something in the darkness, but again continued. "First they told us to lie low, then it was evacuating populated areas. Didn't you notice? Most everybody here's bought out and left. I didn't really buy it a first. It's only in animals so far they said." He put his hands up as to make quotation marks around his sentence. "Everything's fine, just a precaution. I ain't buyin' it now, I think its airborne."

Jordan shook his head. "So what is it? What does it do?'

"I have no damn idea what it does, and I hope I never will. But my dogs. Josh you know Buster and Milo. They just lied down in the backyard for hours, I thought they were dead. I was sittin' on the coach and here they come in all grimy and swollen. They were foamin' some shit from their mouths. I had to put em' down." He had a hint of sorrow in his eyes for a few seconds, but composed himself.

"I know exactly what you mean. I think something very similar happened to me." Josh glanced down at the shotgun in Paul's hand. "Is it really some damn virus?" Josh was in disbelief, he was even more unsettled than he previously had been. The fact that his deliberations were even somewhat accurate was troubling.

"Well I ain't messin' around no more." Paul's voice was as strong and valiant as ever. "I'm taking their advice and getting' outta town. I suggest you to boys get home, get your families and do the same."

"My family's in Omaha." Josh's head began to droop after remembering this fact. _Were they in danger too?_

"Yeah mine's gone too."

Paul looked aggravated and put his hands on his hips. He walked over to his old school Chevrolet truck and loaded some boxes into the bed. "Well, This is some serious stuff guys. Tell you what. You guys come along with me. I got a brother, lives in Council Bluffs. We'll wait things out, then call your parents when all this shits blown over." He grabbed the Remington shotgun and loaded it between the driver and passenger seats.

Josh and Jordan looked at each other, but knew what they had to do. Power in numbers. Jordan opened the passenger's side door and looked back at Josh. "Better than any idea we got."

"Yeah"

"Hey Josh." Paul was continuing to load supplies into the back of the truck. "Help me load some more of this stuff and we'll hit the road. Josh picked up a pack of bottled water and dropped it into the back of the truck. He looked at Paul, admiring how strong he was for his age. It was evident that that he was a rough and tough guy, always was. Tough but comforting. Josh glanced down at Paul's arm. He noticed it was scuffed up pretty bad. There was a decent sized cut on his forearm just below the elbow. It was oddly shaped. There was a large cut running parallel with his arm, and several smaller lacerations across it. It looked like a capitalized T with three lines instead of one.

Paul tossed the last bag of junk into the truck and clapped his hands together. "Alright, lets get outta here." Josh looked at Jordan sitting patiently in the back seat. Paul opened the drivers side door and motioned Josh to get.

"Hey Paul"

"Yeah"

"What happened to your arm there?"

"Oh" Paul's eyes rolled down to the cut on his arm, his voice sounded concerned. "Its nothing. Nothing at all. Lets get going."


	4. Scavenge

**Uprising**

**Chapter 4**

**Scavenge**

The auditorium erupted in a panic. The few children that had reached the safe haven, Jacob counted at least 5, began to wail and call for their mothers. He noticed women reach out for the kids but none were their mothers. Jacob figured they had been lost in the madness. He continued to scan the large auditorium. To each side of him and the others that had gathered in the small entry way were large carpeted stairways. Each stair was probably a foot thick and 15 stairs high. Men and women lined the railing on both side and stared down at those in the entryway. There wasn't a glimmer of hope in a single set of eyes.

"Don't be so shocked people," Reggie bellowed over the screams, "This was all forewarned in The Great Book." Reggie held his King James Bible, which looked like it had seen better days, high above his head. Reggie's eyes flicked from person to person in the crowd of gathering survivors, which Jacob guessed was around 30 in total, and continued. "You people wish more proof that those ghouls were the work of our Lord?" Walker continued ranting. From the Book of Zechariah 14:12, '_This will be the plague which the Lord strikes all people with who warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouth.' _Reggie looked around, seeming rather impressed with himself, but Jacob had seen and heard enough. He stepped forward and knelt down to help Brummond, who was still cuffed and laying on his side from the run in, up to his feet. As he rose again, Brummond now at his side, he heard the cold voice of Reggie Walker. "Boy," he said in a much more hushed tone almost like he only wanted Jacob to hear him, "Do you not care to know why God has punished you? He brought the ghouls to us to punish the sinners. To punish you."

"No Mr. Walker to be honest I could care less why you think I am being punished. In fact no one should care why this is happening, because it is. All we need to be worried about now is what do we need to do to survive." Jacob spoke out to Reggie and the rest of the survivors as well. He heard murmurs of agreement, but not as many as he had hoped.

"A fight for survival would prove fruitless boy," Walker continued, "The Good Lord has deemed all of you sinners and will claim you."

"If God only left the sinners behind then why are you hear?" The voice of Blake Bowland slipped out from the ranks of the crowd behind Jacob and Brummond. "It seems to me that you have devoted your entire life to God. If what you say is true then you shouldn't be here to suffer with us should you."

Reggie leaned to his right, shifting his position so that he could see around the two boys in front of him and to where the voice came from. "What you don't understand, child, is that God doesn't want this for any of you. He wants the world to be happy," Reggie continued as he moved back to face Jacob, "It is because of people like you," he exclaimed as he jabbed Jacob in the chest with the index finger of his free hand, "The sinners of the world are why this is happening. Consider this a cleansing and I am a mere overseer here to make sure the machines are working properly. Do not fret sinners, there is still hope to be saved. All you must do is listen to me and you will be forgiven." Without saying another word he walked past the boys and into the crowd, which parted for him like he was Moses parting the Red Sea. He veered right and walked through a door and into the eating area of the auditorium, vanishing from sight.

…

The auditorium was quiet now which was a stark contrast to the commotion that had been going on a few hours earlier. Everyone had settled down since the minor confrontation with Reggie Walker. Jacob, Blake and Ethan had helped a few other men move more tables and racks of chairs in front of the thick wooden main entrance door. The thudding fists of the undead had lessened since then as well. Most of the inhabitants of the auditorium were milling about on one of the two sets of carpeted stair on either side of the main entrance. Around six or seven were in the eating area of the auditorium listening to the lecture's of Reggie Walker.

Jacob and his three friends sat parallel to the main entrance on a huge stage that took up the whole wall and was about 25 feet long in all directions. The expanse between them was a large wood floor that was a little bigger than a basketball court. Jacob looked at his friends. They were all tired and hadn't gotten much sleep since this whole thing had started. Blake was pouring water on Brummond's wrist. The result of running, or movement in general, along with have the cuffs on for such an extended period of time was beginning to cut up his wrists.

"You think we could maybe find something here to break the cuffs?" Blake asked as he finished applying the water and wiped his wet hands on his gym shorts. "I mean it isn't like he can wear those things until this all blows over. His wrists will get cut to hell and not to mention he's worse than useless at the moment."

"Hey easy," Brummond said while wincing as he adjusted himself on the wall he was leaning against, "it's not like I asked to get these put on me."

"No," Jacob said as he slid off the lip of the stage to the ground a short distance below. His grey Nike's connected with the wood floor with a small thud, "but it is your fault they got put on you."

"He's got a point Brum." Ethan added as he followed Jacob's lead and slid off the stage.

Brummond said nothing, just shook his head and rested it too against the wall. Blake let out a small chuckle as he joined Ethan and Jacob at ground level. The four of them continued to survey the area. Many of the people that were here they knew but were not socially acquainted. One that they were all familiar with was walking towards them as they surveyed.

"How you boys doing?" A voice of sincere concern escaped the mouth of Chris Fleischman. Fleischman was the elementary principal at the school and one of the high school football coaches. He was a big man. He was around 6'4 and was thick. He was well liked among all the kids in the school.

"We're pretty good Mr. Fleischman." Jacob replied as the other three nodded their agreement.

Fleischman stole a look over his shoulder towards the doorway where Walker was holding his Bible Brigade class. "Boys I don't want any of you going near that Reggie Walker character. He's bad news," he nodded towards the group that sat in a circle across the auditorium with Reggie at the center preaching his lungs out, "he's poisoning the minds of those people with his God-Fearing bullshit."

"You don't have to tell us twice," Brummond said as he once again adjusted the position of his back against the wall, "guys a tool if ya ask me."

"I don't care what you think of him Brummond I just want you to stay away from him." Fleishman retorted.

"Trust us Mr. F," Ethan said while clasping his hand on the principal's left shoulder, "we really want nothing to do with that guy."

"Glad to hear it, but to be honest I didn't just come over here to warn you not to go near Walker. I need to know if you guys could help me with something important." Fleischman said, sounding suddenly nervous as if what he was about to ask would be immediately shot down by the boys.

"What is it?" Blake asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"Well I took it upon myself to take stock of the food and water inventory in the kitchen and well…pardon me but we ain't got jack shit back there. The food will be gone in two or three days." Fleischman said.

"So what do you want us to do about that, fast?" Jacob responded, now slightly nervous himself.

"I want you to help me find some food. The store is just two blocks down the road. It'll be a quick jog over, we'll fill up a few shopping carts and then be back before we know it. With all the stuff in there we could eat for months."

"If you didn't notice Fleischman, some of us aren't to great in the running department right now." Ethan remarked as he threw a gesture over to the 'cuffed Brummond.

"Well we don't need all of you," Fleischman replied quickly, "we would only need two. I have a few other men waiting by the back entrance already."

"Well I can go," Jacob spoke up but was almost startled that he did, "Ethan and I could I suppose. That way Brummond and Blake can stay here and keep an eye on The Righteous One." Jacob and the others stole a glance back across the auditorium floor at Reggie. Jacob noted that in the 10 minutes they had been talking to their former principal a few more people had found a spot among the crowd that was listening to his rants.

"Are you two sure you are OK with this?" Fleischman said in a voice that sounded like he was almost sad that they had agreed to join him. Jacob and Ethan glanced at each other, a slight nervousness in their eyes, and nodded their agreement. "All right then we best be going before it gets dark."

"Don't we get any weapons to protect ourselves with?" Ethan asked quickly as Fleischman began walking toward the kitchen which had a hallway that led to the back alley of the auditorium.

"We found a few steel bars in the storage closet and sharpened them up a bit. They will do some damage if they have to…and don't tell anyone but…" Fleischman glanced around the room and kept his eyes a little longer at the gather of Reggie's followers before continuing, "Don't tell anyone but I have a gun." Fleischman whispered and walked quickly toward the exit. Jacob and Ethan looked at each other and then back at Brummond and Blake. There was a feeling that none of them would see each other again.

…

Jacob didn't remember leaving the auditorium, didn't remember getting a steel rod with an incredibly sharp edge on it, didn't remember walking to the middle of Main Street but that was where he stood now. To his right was Ethan, his left side was guarded by his principal Chris Fleischman. To Fleischman's left stood the local 'do anything for a little money' man Kent Tranmer. Kent was a little weird but could always be counted on to get a job done. He was short, only about 5'8 by Jacob's guess, and had short blonde hair. He held a standard steak knife tightly in his hand. To Ethan's right stood the last member of their scavenge group, his name was Alan. To say the least Alan Westmire was an ass to everyone. He had a large muscular build, notifying an obsession with working out and his thought that a ripped body was one of the most important things in life. He assumed anything he wanted should be his and if it couldn't be his he forced it to. Most notably with the ladies. He was a scum in their small town. He held a baseball bat close to his chest and took a lazy glance down the row toward Jacob.

"Lets get moving. We want to get this done with soon." Fleischman said as he readied the hunting rifle he held firmly in his mitts. The words pulled Jacob back into the moment and he realized finally that he stood in the shell of a town he once called home. This wasn't like the old zombie movies he had watched throughout his life, their were no burning buildings or cars flipped or sense of destruction but their was a stillness in the air that made the hair on his neck stand up. When the undead had entered this town it lived no more than the new residents.

"Where did you find the gun Chris?" Alan whispered in his low and raspy voice. He eyed the gun with his dark brown eyes.

"By the time I got to town it was already in chaos. I happened to have my gun in the pickup and grabbed it when I ran to the auditorium. Let's keep it on the down low though. I kept it hidden from the others their so not to cause a panic."

"Right good idea. Wouldn't want people trying to take it, possibly use it." Alan whispered.

Fleischman nodded as they continued. They walked in a perfect straight line, all heads were on a swivel but there were no undead anywhere in sight. The walk was faster and easier than he had assumed but as they reached the front door to the local Save More Markets Jacob found himself clutching his metal spear more tightly. He noticed Ethan clutching his similar spear about the same way. They reached the front door and without any plan of action or word of acknowledgement whatsoever Kent ripped the door open. The movement was quick and startled them all. Nothing jumped out of them but they still gave Kent a look of 'why the fuck would you do that.' They stepped into a smaller hallway that branched into two thin hallways, both inclining slightly until they reached a door. This area was designed by the manager to control the flow of customer traffic. The left side door was for those exiting and the right side was for those entering. The pushed open the door to the right and stepped inside. The moment the door closed behind them and they were officially in the store their was an audible click of a gun as it was jammed into Ethan's face.

"What the fuck you doin in my store?" shouted a familiar voice. In one movement everyone but Ethan turned to face the owner of the voice. Jacob had recognized it before he had turned to face his former boss and owner of the grocery store they stood in. Scott Herbolshiemer stood with a gun pushed against Ethan's temple and a crazed look in his eyes.

"Easy Scott, we didn't know anyone was here," Fleischman said while making sure to keep his gun pointed in a non threatening way, "we were just going to get some food. There is about 30 other people holed up in the auditorium and…"

"SHUT UP!" Scott cut Fleischman off. Jacob winced at the sound and looked back out the door they had entered. One undead creature had lumbered into sight. He was about ready to let the others know but the door at the back of the store crashed open before they could do anything. Another man stepped into view from an aisle with a concerned look on his face. The man was short with glasses and a mustache. It quivered when he spoke.

"What is going on out here?" The man shouted.

"Dammit Stan just leave it," Scott continued screaming "I have this under control."

In this small town everyone knew every and Stan Mencke was no different. He had been Jacob's basketball coach throughout high school. He stole another glance out the door and there were six more zombies slowly lumbering toward the supermarket.

"Look I think it is about time we got the food and went back to the auditorium. I think there is more than enough room for everyone in there." Jacob said, trying to calm the situation. He watched nervously as his former boss considered what had been said and slowly lowered his gun. "Good," Jacob breathed out suddenly relieved, "now lets get the food and get out." Everyone nodded their agreement and they all heard the back door open again. A girl walked into view shortly after and Jacob's eyes widened with shock. "Alex?"

"Jacob?" Alex said quietly almost to herself. "Jacob!" She yelled and ran to him, embracing him in a hug. Alex Langley was about 5'10 with short brown hair. After their hug she looked at him with her green eyes.

"Well it's sweet that the lovebirds have been reunited but can we get the food and get the hell outta here." Alan grumbled as he pulled a shopping cart out of the cart stable and pushed it down an aisle, dumping as much as he could in it.

…

It took the group, which was now three people larger, around 20 minutes to file four cart to an overflowing status. What no one was paying attention to however was the growing crowd of the undead. As they gathered at the front of the store and stared out as the ghouls stumbled over each other and pushed against the glass of the traffic control hallway. It was filled with them.

"What do we do," Ethan asked, "we can't just push past them can…" The window to the left of them crashed open to their left. Alan Westmire stood at the window sill looking out.

"Anyone else coming?" He asked as he jumped out the window. They all looked dumbfounded for a moment, then Jacob jumped out the window and landed next to Alan. They both gazed up and down the street but none of the ghouls had rounded the corner to notice them.

"Hand up the carts." Alan whispered but there was already one being lifted out the window. It was heavy but not unbearable and they set it down quickly and grabbed the next one that was already in the window. As they were lowering they heard the moan.

_Uuuuuuuuugggggnnnnnnnnnn._

Alan and Jacob turned and saw a zombie shambling toward them.

"A little help here." Alan said. They could hear a commotion inside and a sound of windows shattering. They had broken inside. Jacob wanted to drop the cart and jump back in the window and pull Alex out but she landed next to him outside seconds later. Scott was at the window next but before he jumped out he steadied his gun and pulled the trigger. The sound echoed through the city. There was a plume of red mist and the zombie collapsed to the pavement in a heap. _Jesus _Jacob thought as he watched the once human die for a second time. There were more gunshots from inside the store as Herbolshiemer landed next to Alex.

"We need to get out of here now." Alan said calmly as he and Jacob set down the second cartful. "We need to leave the other carts and go. FLEISCHMAN WE NEED TO GO, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" He began pushing the cart toward Main Street. Fleischman appeared in the window with Kent and helped him down slowly before jumping down himself.

"What happened to Mr. Mencke and Kent?" Jacob asked as he grabbed a cart and began pushing quickly after Alan with everyone but Mencke in tow.

"He didn't make it," Fleischman said as they moved quickly past a small group of three flesh eaters, "Kent got hurt pretty bad inside." He adjusted the way he supported Kent so they could move faster.

They had made it, survived a scavenge trip with only one lost life. While Jacob thought it was horrible that he thought of it still as a victory with a loss of life, in this new world that was probably a good day.

…

They arrived back at the auditorium to open arms. The food and the finding of two more survivors really seemed to brighten the mood of the 30 people that were forced to live together. Jacob, Ethan, and Alex returned to Brummond and Blake who reported that nothing interesting had happened. The only thing that went on was that the people listening to Reggie Walker's sermons was continuing to grow.

"There isn't a lot we can do about that is there." Brummond said as he scratched his back by rubbing it against the wall.

"Yeah that's true but I'm worried that eventually that peaceful little church group will turn into something uglier."

…

Reggie sat in a back room of the auditorium that he had been slowly converting into a pseudo-office. He sat and read the bible by candlelight when there was a soft knock at the door. A smile spread across his face.

"Come." He said softly.

The door creaked open just enough to let a body slide into the room and then it was closed again. The single candle in the small room was the only source of light and its flicker threw strange shadows across the room.

"I imagine you have news, as you are bothering me this late at night." Reggie said calmy as he closed his holy book and leaned forward.

"Yes I do Mr. Walker. I…"

"Please call me as I instructed you to." Walker cut off the man with a tinge of anger in his voice.

"Oh, right it won't slip my mind again Father Walker. The group that went on the scavenge may pose a threat," the man shifted almost nervously as 'Father' Walker rose from his seat and clasped his hands behind his back. He turned his back toward the man and they stood in silence for a solid minute. Walker turned his head eventually.

"But they didn't suspect you did they?"

"God no Father they…" The man was cut off as Walker's fist connected with his cheekbone. Walker had moved faster then the man had ever seen. Walker's associate crashed to the floor.

"Never speak the Lord's name in vain…ever." Walker said as he walked back to where he was standing with his back to the man. He rose slowly from the ground, holding his cheekbone.

"I'm sorry Father it won't happen again. As I was saying they trust me as much as one would expect."

"Very good, then you are dismissed if there is nothing else." Walked said sounding pleased.

"Actually there is something else." The man's words made Walker turn towards him and eye him coolly. "They have a gun Father."

Reggie smiled and turned his back on his associate once again. There was a sharp coldness in his voice as if it dripped with an evil venom. "Well Mr. Alan Westmire, what do you suppose we do about that?"


	5. Uncertainty

**Uprising**

**Chapter 5**

**Uncertainty **

The Chevy struggled to plug along the city streets in the darkness. Two dim headlights were the only things separating them from the malevolence that was the night.

"Nice to meet you Jordan. Now you two don't worry about anything here. Everything's gonna be fine. All we gotta do is get out of the city and make it to Council Bluffs." Paul was relaxed in the drivers seat. He noticed the tension building in the car.

The street lamps were out on most the main streets of Lincoln as well. The roads were empty, just as Jordan had said. Occasionally, they would pass by an abandoned car or two, but they did their best to ignore the major signs of imminent danger. They passed by the usually city fair; clusters of strip malls, fast food restaurants, and office buildings provided a semi-secure experience. Nothing was so askew as to seem ominous. But the darkness was still a concern. Not only was it dangerous to drive in but it also added as sense of uncertainty. Uncertainty was one of the things that scared Josh most. It wasn't tangible, but the thought that there was no chance to prepare for whatever happened to be coming, scared the hell out of him.

Paul reached down and onto the dash, keeping one hand and eye fixed on the task at hand. He grabbed a bottle of water and began to suckle it down. "Almost outta town boys. I figure we don't take I-80, that could be a mess. My guess is everyone's had that idea in mind. We'll take Highway 6 out towards Waverly and double back around." Josh nodded his head in agreement. He felt comforted in the fact that he didn't have to take charge anymore. Had it of just been him and Jordan, he being the more responsible of the two would have had to take a leadership role. The whole idea of leadership made Josh uncomfortable.

Jordan piped up, his voice raspy with fatigue. "You guys don't mind if I sleep a bit here. Me needs my beauty sleep." He slid his cap bill down over his eyes Indiana Jones style and slouched back in the cramped back cab.

"You go right ahead big fella. We'll man the ship." Paul grinned as he looked back at Jordan in the backseat. He looked over at Josh. His forehead was sweating a bit and his eyes were drooping. This was a stressful day for everyone, Josh was sure Paul was weary.

"Paul, do you want me to take the wheel for awhile. You look a little tired." Josh was genuinely concerned.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm fine." He reached down again and took another prolonged swig from the water, downing it dry. "Hey will you do me a favor Josh? Grab back by Jordan's feet there should be another bottle."

"Sure," Josh rummaged around several paper sacks next to Jordan's feet and grasped the bottle, he reached back and handed it to Paul.

"Thank you very much sir." He cracked open the bottle and drank once more.

The buildings and homes that had become so familiar on the drive were beginning to fade into fields and meadows, they were nearing the edge of town. Josh was surprised by how easy this was becoming. Nothing was going on, just silence. The dangers that he had once believed to be inevitable had drifted farther back in his mind now. He wondered about his parents, if they were safe, away from this virus. Josh pulled his cell phone out and flipped it open. He began to compose a text message to his mother. He looked up from the screen and out at the blackness, he started punching keys again. It read "I'm ok mom, are you guys safe?" He looked back at Jordan who had begun to drift softly into a doze in the back seat, and Paul, staring sternly ahead focused on getting to where he needed to be. He stared at the screen reading the words for several more seconds before hitting the send button.

"What the hell is this!" The truck began to skid madly as it screeched to a halt in front of a large blockade of vehicles and concrete barriers. Jordan was startled awake and grabbed the front seat in shock. "Is everyone ok?" Paul shifted the gear to park as the car angled cockeyed across the road. He left the headlights on. "You guys just stay in here I'm gonna have a look, see what's going on."

"I'll come Paul." Josh spoke up, he felt vulnerable being left in a confined space like the truck.

"Just stay. There could be trouble." Paul's voice grew stronger as the sentence went on.

"I appreciate you trying to look out for me Mr. Grinestaff but I'm sixteen years old. I can handle myself." Josh opened the door and hopped down onto the pavement.

"Hey wait." Jordan struggled to push the seat forward and stumbled out of the truck as well. "Dude what's going on? What are these army trucks doing here?"

"It's a blockade." Paul's voice was fainter, he had moved closer into the cluster of vehicles to investigate. His voice still strong from a distance. "My guess is after they told everyone to evacuate the city, the virus was already in too deep. People were probably already starting to get infected. They didn't want it to continue to spread, so they shut down every access point in and out of the city." Paul emerged from behind a large caravan truck and was wiggling the surgical mask in his hand. He coughed several times and cleared his throat. "I also think we won't be needing these anymore."

"Why not? I thought you said it was airborne." Josh and Jordan began to slowly walk over and join Paul in the jumble of trucks.

"Well, we've all been amidst this virus for several hours now and show no signs of symptoms, and, if you come over here closer I can show you what makes me even more convinced." The two picked up their pace, stepping over piles of trash and junk.

"Oh what the hell!" Jordan jumped back and turned his head away in abhorrence. Josh squinted his eyes at the sight. It was two bodies, very fresh. Soldiers in uniform, camouflage and everything. They were lying limp against one of the massive tires of the truck. It was hard to make out the whole scene with just the light of the trucks headlights dimly illuminating it.

"What do you notice about these guys." It was clear the situation didn't make Paul uneasy. Aside from being a strong willed person in general, Paul served in the military for several years and even saw action during some sting missions in Afghanistan.

Josh shook his head, he looked back down at the blank faces of the men and cringed away. "Jesus were they infected?" He and Jordan simultaneously took a few small steps back, away from the corpses.

"No, they were shot. By civilians most likely. Trying ta' get outta town. Look at the side of this guy's head." Paul pointed at the soldier on the right. He was stout. His eyes were pale and his eyelids had a reddish ring around them. He was young too, no older than 25 years old. It was sad to see his face so lifeless. When Josh looked where Paul was pointing he saw a red, quarter-sized hole just above the man's left ear.

"That's awful. People just killed these guys to get out of town. That's horrible…" Josh was suddenly flooded with emotion. Anger. Fear. Frustration.

"You'd be surprised how crazy people get when you introduce a little mass panic." Paul took a deep breath and stepped back. He put his hands on his hips. Things were quiet between the three for a few seconds. "That wasn't what I was trying to show you though." Paul stopped, he shook his head and looked down. He began to mumble to himself. "God this could be worse than I thought."

"What?"

"They're not wearing masks or protective equipment which means its not airborne." Paul looked back at his truck and began to slowly walk back. He was starting to breath heavy. He was a smoker. "I'm not so sure they knew much more than we do." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Damn, last one." He clasped his hands around his mouth and sparked the light. He took a couple long tokes from it before continuing. "We'd better go. I bet if we go through some of those parking lots back there we can make it around." Josh looked over to Jordan who was slowly making his way over the truck. The corpses of the two soldiers were burned into Josh's thoughts. He tried to cast them out but something that significant tends to stay with a person. He shimmied his way back through the labyrinth of vehicles and stepped back into the truck.

"Alright, we'll head down there by those buildings and take a few detours. We should make it out and around quite nicely." Paul's voice was beginning to falter. It had a slow quiver that was alarming to Josh, he had never heard Paul sounding so weak.

"Good, let's just get the hell outta here. This whole situation's starting to get out of hand. I just wanna get outta town and relax." Jordan let a deep sigh pass and looked his worried eyes at Josh.

"Yeah, it's been a long night." With that Paul silently put the truck into gear and veered sharply to the left. They pounded over some debris in the road and banked vigorously onto the curb.

"Hold on." Josh grabbed the handle situated above the seat, Jordan did the same. The truck was stumbling over grass medians and trash littered all about. Another thud and the car was barreling back down on the road. It was an access route to a plaza of parking lots, gas stations, and general stores. Paul secured the vehicle after the perilous off-road adventure. He wheeled the truck forward at a slow lull and pulled across the divider in front of a gas station. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the boys. His head was beginning to sweat more profusely now. "I gotta get another pack. Bad habit but it needs appeasement."

Josh looked at the pitch dark station with concerned eyes. "I assume you want us to stay here and wait."

"If you don't mind. I won't be long that's for sure. Just stay here and make sure nothing's coming."

"Yeah that's fine, I guess we'll just stay here." Josh looked to the back seat and was surprised by how attentive Jordan was.

He spoke up. "Yeah we'll man the ship." Paul's face was feeble but he managed to let a small grin show itself. He and Jordan gave each other a look and he swung open the door and darted into the shop.

"You think he's ok Josh?" Jordan was back to business, he looked in Josh's eyes with the same seriousness he had first seen earlier in the night.

"You noticed it too?"

"Hell yeah I noticed it. You see the cut on his arm too?"

"I asked him. He said it was no big deal."

Jordan glanced back into the gas station, the door hung open but the interior was still dark. "Well he looks pretty bad. I don't know what's up but this whole thing is starting to get a hell of a lot more complicated. What if there's more of those crazy fuckers still out there? Or what if we get infected? Sounds pretty damn serious to me."

Jordan's comments began to make Josh even more anxious. The fact that Jordan was so serious now showed just how bad things were getting. "Paul's strong. He's a strong man, in all senses of the word." The light in the station finally flicked on. "He's been through a lot, I feel as safe with him as anyone.

"Alright whatever you say dude." Josh in fact did not feel very safe at all. He did his best to keep up his front, after all, between the two of them, he was going to have to take command. Whether he liked it or not.

The plaza stayed silent and dark. It was tough to tell in the darkness, but there were at least three major buildings surrounding them, the gas station was the center. The parking lot was collective for the most part, with dividers and medians at every necessary point.

It had been several more minutes and Paul still hadn't returned to the truck. Things between Josh and Jordan were silent. Josh slouched in his seat a bit. He couldn't seem to get comfortable. This wasn't surprising, nothing about their circumstances offered any comfort. Although the light was on, Paul was not visible, he had to have been in the back right hand corner of the shop, that was the only portion blocked from view.

As the minutes passed by, the nerves grew stronger. Josh slithered his body across the seats and the dash in an effort to find view of Paul. "Josh, lets just go in and check it out, he's probably just in the bathroom or something, but just sitting in here isn't gonna help him if he's in danger."

"He wants us to stay." Josh replied with a somewhat vicious tone.

"Dude, it's much safer out in the open instead of being trapped in this cramped truck."

"Your just saying that 'cause your in the back. If there's trouble, I'd have no problem getting out. But you… you my friend are toast." Josh smiled, he needed to break the tension. Jordan grinned along.

"Wow you wouldn't even try to save your best friend." Jordan reached forward and made a fake punching motion toward Josh. "I'll remember that dude, I'll remember that." Jordan tried to keep a straight face but couldn't contain the boyish grin that he so often sported. "Lets just go in though dude, I mean come on, what's the prob…" There was a slam outside, somewhere in the parking lot. Josh's eyes went serious.

"I'm assuming you heard that."

"I wish I didn't" Jordan crawled through the thin corridor between the two front seats and into a more beneficial position in the drivers seat. He situated himself. "Just in case." He rolled down the window a crack and pressed his ear closer to the glass. Another noise, more of a crack this time. It wasn't coming from anywhere close to the gas station, it was coming from an area closer to the outer rim of the plaza, coming from one of the dark buildings.

Josh's heart began to race faster, he was thinking of what to do incase things got tight, escape routes. He fought the urge to run into the gas station, as vulnerable as he felt in the confined spaces of the truck, it was still a truck. Paul had left the key in the slot and if all went horribly wrong, they would still be able to drive away. He was sure it wouldn't come to that.

Another crash, this time coming from an obviously closer distance. Jordan and Josh simultaneously whipped they're heads toward the direction of the sound. Paul came staggering out of the shop. He looked like he was trying to run or jog, but didn't have the strength. His eyes were heavy and his body drenched with sweat. He ripped open the door and pushed Jordan back towards the back seat.

"Move move we gotta go!" His voice was weak but strong at the same time. Josh didn't want to believe it but he knew exactly why. Paul was terrified. "We gotta go fucking right now!"

Jordan began to panic. "What! What is it? What the hell's going on?" Paul slammed the drivers side door and reached down to grab the shotgun that had slide onto the floor. Josh had almost forgot about the shotgun, he watched anxiously as Paul scooped it up and cocked it swiftly.

"Look!" Paul pointed towards the doors of the station. People came spilling out the doors. They looked like people but Josh knew they couldn't be, they were just like the dog, they were infected. Paul whipped the car in reverse and skidded along the pavement, the things were coming closer. Jordan's face was in shock, he adjusted his position as to get a glimpse out the window, a glimpse at the horror.

The people, or things, were white pale. Their eyes shared that quality, the pupils were a milky shade, and the outer rim was reddish maroon. Their mouth's had black residue forming on the corners. Some even had blood smeared on their faces. They were mindless, that was obvious, there was going to be no reasoning with them. The things were relentlessly coming after the truck. Paul maneuvered through the pump stands and banked up and over a curb. They went further into the blackness of the plaza, towards the darkest of the buildings. The things were slow, it was like they couldn't run. They seemed to be going at the fastest pace possible, and that was only a shuffle. Josh counted at least fifteen of the monsters. His mind was in dismay. This was a rapidly becoming a horror movie, and he was right in the middle of it.

"Hold on boys." Paul continued to push the accelerator, looking for exits back onto the highway. He was careful not to go too fast and put themselves in worse position then they already were in. He began to cough violently several times and spit on the floor of the truck. Josh couldn't tell but his saliva looked to be a dark color. His face was getting paler by the second, but hell, so were Jordan and Josh's.

"What the hell. What the hell. What the hell." Jordan's face was blank and his eyes were in terror. He was still trying to make out the whole scene through the window. "That's what fucking happens to the infected! They're zombies!" This comment, more than an other on the night, shook fear into Josh. They were mindless, helpless, crazed beings that were relentless to find more prey. Josh shook his head and looked back at Jordan.

"Your exactly right."

"Oh my God dude." Jordan replied. He dropped his head for a few seconds. "Were dead, we're dead." Josh turned his attention forward, there were more of the them, the zombies, spilling through the parking lot from the dark buildings. It was a swarm. Josh felt his heart pounding out of his chest.

"No we're not, not if I can help it." Paul coughed again and focused his attention forward. The zombies were flooding the path in front of them, the only way back to the highway and around the blockade. He stepped on the gas and they all braced for impact. _Thud_, they smashed head on into two, there bodies drug under the truck. _Thud_, two more. _Thud. Thud. Thud_. Blood was beginning to collect on the windshield. Paul smashed through a mailbox and back onto the median.

"Jesus Christ!" Jordan yelled from the backseat. He clutched the front seat in an effort to control himself more. They were almost out.

Paul wiped the sweat from his forehead and smashed straight into another one of the monsters. The front of the truck was getting into bad shape. It was dented horribly and some of the sheet metal from the hood was coming off. Paul swung the wheel to the right and around several other mindless beasts standing in the middle of the path. He again banked the curb and cracked back down onto pavement.

"Yes!" Paul yelled, his strength seemed return, if only for a second. Josh put his had on Paul's shoulder and loosened his grip on the roof handle.

"Nice job Paul." Josh let a giant sigh of relief out. Jordan began to giggle with amusement. He sighed and put both hands on Josh's shoulders in front of him.

"Holy shit. This is crazy." He leaned back for a minute and seriousness returned to the car. "So Paul, what happened in the gas station? What took you so long?" Josh added to the questioning.

"Yeah where did all those things come from?"

Paul shifted in his seat and let his head dip a bit. He coughed several more times. His hands on the wheel began to shake. "I… don't know…" He coughed once more. " They flooded through the back door… I don't know I had to fight a few of em' off. But it's ok, none got close enough to infect me." Josh and Jordan looked on with skepticism, but could tell that he was telling the truth, his voice was sincere.

The highway was again dark , cornfields and a free path. They were out of the city, but not out of trouble.

"Well we're just glad you made it out ok Paul, we were pretty worried." Josh again put his hand on Paul's shoulder. Paul was unresponsive. "Paul?" His head dipped fully and his eyes began to flutter, dark drool was seeping out of his mouth. The car began to swerve.

"What the hell Josh…" Jordan's voice was panicked again.

Josh reached over and grabbed the wheel, twisting his body awkwardly. He undid his seatbelt and tried to swing his foot over the dash separator. "Paul wake up! Paul come on!" Paul's eyes continued to waver, pushing back into his head, his veins were becoming visible through his pale skin. He was shaking violently. "Paul come on!"

"Just stop the damn car Josh!"

"I can't!" Josh tried to slide over but there wasn't enough room. Paul went still.

"Jesus Josh were going off the road!" The truck was speeding off the shoulder and barreling down into a small field. Josh grabbed Paul's limp right leg and lifted it vigorously off the gas. He adjusted his position and then pushed Paul's foot onto the brake. He drove his leg deep onto the brake and the truck began to slow. The bumps were getting lighter and their speed decreased. They slid down a small hill and the truck finally ceased to move. Josh adjusted once more, keeping pressure on Paul's leg and on the brake. He reached across and shifted the truck to park.

"Thank God." Jordan slouched back in his seat.

"No, Paul's in trouble Jordan." Josh climbed back out the passenger side and raced around front. The air outside was the thick. The field was dark and empty. The stars were beautiful. He opened the drivers side door and carefully let Paul slide out onto the damp ground. Jordan made his way out of the truck.

"Is he gonna be ok Josh? He's alive right?"

Josh bent down to check his pulse. It was quiet, he wasn't breathing. He sat back on his knees and put his hands behind his head. His eyes began to well up. "No…"

"What!"

"No he's dead Jordan. I think he's dead." Their faces both went blank, Jordan stepped back. They looked around for several seconds, silent.

"You don't think he'll… he'll come back do you?" Jordan's voice was quieter, his tone was fearful. "I mean as one of those things."

Josh stood up with this comment. "I don't know…"

"What the hell Josh, lets just go right now. I don't wanna take any…"

"Just calm down Jordan."

"I don't wanna take any chances! Lets go right now Josh! Play it safe!"

Josh looked sternly at Jordan. "Calm the fuck down!" He shook his head. "He was my neighbor Jordan, I knew him well. He was a great man, went through a lot. He deserves better than this." The wind in the field began to pick up suddenly. The few lights left on in the city were still somewhat visible in the distance.

"I know Josh. But don't you think that he wanted to protect us. He would've wanted us to stay safe." Jordan began to pace a bit. He stuck his head back into the truck and pulled out the shotgun, pumped and ready. "Lets not take any chances."

"Wow Jordan be careful." Josh stepped back.

"Relax Josh, you know I know how to handle a gun." Jordan's father had some rifles. He and Josh had gone together to the range several times and learned how to handle a gun. But still, the thought of Jordan holding a gun made Josh very nervous.

"Lets get in the car, you can drive, and we'll find some farmhouse or something, they'll take us in, and we'll be safe. Lets just get away from here." Jordan seemed to be taking a leadership role. He was a good person and a good friend, but Josh feared how things would end up if this continued.

He looked down at Paul's body and back up at Jordan. He made his voice sound stronger, he tried to assert more authority but still keep the peace between he and his friend. "Alright buddy, we'll get outta here. But lets at least bury him or something…"

Jordan butt in with a semi-angry tone. "No dude." He shook his head several times. I just wanna… Ahhhh!" Jordan jumped back with a scream, he was looking back a little past Josh, were Paul's body was to be lying. Josh whipped around and saw Paul, looking like the monsters they had just faced. His face was pale and his eyes were the same, pupils white with a maroon exterior. He moaned several times and staggered his way over to the boys. He had turned, he had been infected. He was a zombie.

Josh stumbled back towards Jordan as well, they put their backs against the hood of the truck. Paul's corpse was shuffling forward towards them.

"Shoot him Jordan!" Josh yelled. He looked at Jordan, he was frozen in shock. "Jordan shoot him!" Josh paused, the two stepped back from the car. The zombie followed. His mouth wide, foaming dark saliva. He was shaking a bit. Josh stared at Paul one last time, he felt so bad for him, after all that he had gone through in his life, all the struggles, he deserved better than this. But, this was how it had to be, this was how it had to be if they wanted to survive. Josh reached over and grasped the shotgun in Jordan's hands, he tried to take control of it. Jordan snapped back to reality and shook Josh off. Paul was nearing them. Jordan swiftly put the gun on his shoulder, he aimed for a second and put pressure on the trigger. There was a loud bang and Paul's head burst. Spackles of blood hit the boys as his body slammed backward onto the ground. They stood there for several seconds, fixated on the body.

Jordan finally lowered the shotgun. He looked over at Josh. He took his hand and rubbed the shoulder the gun had been placed on. Josh put his hand over his mouth and shook is head. He looked to Jordan who was walking towards the truck.

"Thank you Jordan, for coming through. I didn't think you were gonna do it but you saved us."

Jordan picked his head up and looked over at Josh as he was climbing into the drivers seat. " I didn't wanna do it, I almost couldn't do it." His voice was quiet. They stared at each other for a few seconds and got into the car, uncertain of what to do next.


	6. Foresight

**Uprising**

**Chapter 6**

**Foresight**

His eye's opened and They saw the destruction. He was here again, back in the scenario. He preferred calling it a scenario because to Him it never really felt like a dream and He never really felt like Himself. He hadn't experienced the scenario for a while now, and while He had always disliked and even feared this place He had this feeling of safety none the less. Although He had yet to see another person within the scenario besides Him and the mystery man who stood atop that enormous concrete hill with his herd of livestock, He seemed to feel like He was not alone here. Like someone was always watching Him. Protecting Him.

While the scenery of the scenario was the same, as it always had been since the first time, it felt different to Him this time. It felt darker to Him. He looked to his left as He always did first. He saw the basketball court with the worn Wilson ball resting in the center circle. He gazed at the rusted poles that held the hoop at its regulation ten foot height. Then He heard a jingling. He followed up the pole and saw that the old chain net was swaying in an unseen wind. Suddenly He was worried. Worried because in the scenario there had never been an element of weather, never a change but now there was. He couldn't feel the breeze only see it but it still worried him. He had also found Himself struggling to see the court now without realizing it. The darkness was getting more prominent but it wasn't a blackening of the sun darkness more like a dark film put of the lens of life. He looked to His right and saw the rotting sign that sat above the restaurant and always read the same thing:

**Sam's Delectable Deli: Good Eats, Good People, Good Times**

He looked away and noticed The Dark Man standing atop the hill performing his theatrics as he always had but it brought little attention to Him. He could see the darkness moving around him, being pushed passed him by an unfelt wind. What was happening to the scenario? Was it becoming unstable, was He becoming unstable. His eyes shifted back to The Dark Man as his precious animal followers gathered around him. Everything was panning out as it had last time. Why was He suddenly remembering past scenarios? What happened next? What happened…He turned and saw the rotten thing just as it grabbed Him. He struggled with it for a moment but instead of falling and succumbing to the usual fate of death by zombie He pushed it back slightly and stood his ground. The zombie looked at him for a moment. The zombie was around 6'2 and in its past human life he was probably relatively muscular. He wore a T-shirt with his last name stenciled in to it. GAGE. He barely had time to register the name when GAGE lunged at Him again. As GAGE moved closer He felt His hands move without His sayso and he was swinging a sword through the air that connected with GAGE's shoulder and continued through, slicing the stenciled in name, and the zombie for that matter, in half. It fell to the pavement and didn't have a chance to rise again.

He looked at the sword He produced out of nowhere with a worried look. He had never used a sword before, in the Scenario or in real life, and all the sudden He pulled one out of His ass basically. It didn't make sense. He examined it carefully, noticing the gleaming golden handle with a red gem stuck into the bottom of the hilt. Aside from the hilt itself the sword looked like every other generic sword He had ever seen. He looked up at The Dark Man and gripped the gold hilt tighter. This had to be it. This was when He would finally end the Scenario and be free of it all. He lifted His right foot and brought it forward to begin the long trek up the hill. The second His foot touched the pavement He was thrown backwards abruptly and skidded to a halt next to GAGE's body. He looked up from His new position of the ground and saw The Dark Man beginning to shimmer. The Dark Man put his hands back in the air as he continued shimmering, he seemed to be laughing as he did though there was no sound. From the belly of The Dark Man erupted a dark cloud that came floating down towards Him. He tried to push Himself backwards as the cloud slowly worked its way down the hill towards Him but He ran out of room when He ran in to GAGE's body. He climbed to His feet as the dark cloud hovered about 10 feet away. The effects of the wind that He could see but not feel were getting stronger. Out of the corner of His eye He noticed swinging sign that was almost parallel to the pavement. He noticed that His own hair was whipping madly about atop His head. The cloud began to shimmer more violently now.

He looked down and noticed the sword, still gripped tightly in His hand. At least He had a weapon. The cloud took the shape of a man and began to take steps toward Him. The cloud had facial features to but at the rate it was shimmering He couldn't quite make them out. As the cloud began to move forward He primed Himself to fight, though He didn't know how well it would go. He was ready to attack when he saw the clouds face, familiar yet much more sinister than He remembered. It was Reggie Walker. He couldn't help Himself, and backed away from the Reggie apparition, forgetting about the GAGE body. He tripped over it and hit the pavement, which didn't stay pavement for long. The second His body hit the street there was a shattering not a lot different than that of a window breaking and soon He saw, and felt, Himself falling into nothingness. As He fell He noticed that the Reggie apparition, the GAGE body, the Dark Man and his livestock, hell everything had held its place right where it was as if it didn't even need the ground to hold it up.

As He began to sink into the abyss He watched as the Reggie apparition reached into the sports jacket that the cloud had decided to dress the apparition. The first thing that ran through His mind was gun. The damn ghost thing had a gun. The smoky form of Reggie Walker procured not a gun but rather his trusty King James Bible held like a kid would hold a book if he were pretending it to be a gun. Hand on the bottom right corner of the book, binding facing the sky. Reggie seemed to be taking aim and then faked the recoil of a gunshot. His eyes followed what seemed to be a bullet flying through the air, and as he fell farther away he noticed there was another smoking apparition standing opposite of Reggie. He was too far away to make out any detail. He watched as the lone bullet cut through the mirage.

_"In order to survive you must kill."_

A voice penetrated the walls of His mind and seemed to echo and resonate throughout the black pit that he continued to fall deeper into. He looked up and noticed that all of the familiar landmarks that made up the Scenario were now not much more than specks. For the first time ever He began to panic.

_"Don't panic. If you want to survive you must kill. Only then will you be able to keep this place stable"_

He covered His ears and writhed in pain as He continued to hurtle farther into the abyss. This mysterious voice was not only terrifying but also so loud in His head that He felt it would burst.

_"Kill the infected. You know in your heart that killing them is the only way to keep yourself alive and it will also allow you to see who Reggie is going to kill. Don't fuck this up kid or you know what will happen."_

He continued to fall as He heard music playing in the distance. It was familiar but He couldn't remember where He had heard it before. It was right on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't…

…

"Jacob get up."

Jacob woke with a start, whipping drool from his mouth as an instant reaction. "You've been asleep for like 14 hours Jacob." Brummond's face slowly cleared into Jacob's vision as the sleep was exiting. "I was kinda starting to get worried."

"No, I'm…I'm fine." Jacob said back obviously shaken and to Brummond it almost seemed like he was talking to himself, reassuring himself that he was fine. He rose from the hard section of wooden floor of the auditorium that he had come to call a bed, whipping the sleep from his eyes as he did. Brummond noticed that Jacob's eyes were puffy from sleep he assumed. Or had he been crying? "How are your wrists Brum?"

"Not good," Brummond said, shaking thoughts of the origins of Jacob's puffy eyes as there were more important things to worry about, "I'm worried they might get infected unless I can get them of soon. I can barely sleep anymore. Every time I move I get this shooting pain where the 'cuffs are." Brummond winced a little as he spoke because of an adjustment in the way he was sitting. Jacob continued rubbing his eyes as he let out a large yawn which, in turn, caused Brummond to let a yawn sneak from his exhausted body to.

"Look," Jacob started as his yawn had finally subsided, "I need to talk to you about something a little later. It's about going out there." Jacob motioned toward the auditoriums front, and now heavily barricaded, doors.

"You're not seriously planning on going out there are you!" Brummond said louder than Jacob wanted him to have and he had to grab the red, and slightly sticky from the slowly drying blood of his last attempt at sleep, wrists and Brummond let out a minor yelp of pain. Jacob threw Brummond a look that said 'shut up' with a slight pinch of 'are you stupid?'

"I'm not going out there alone," Jacob said quietly through slightly gritted teeth, "you're gunna come with me and we are going to find that lard ass cop that 'cuffed you and get that damn key from him to get you out of those before your wrists rub raw." Jacob released his light, but no doubt painful grip on Brummond's battered wrists and finished. "We're not gunna talk about this right here, right now so go get Ethan or Blake to help rinse off your wrists and I will find you later. Sound good?" Brummond said nothing, he only looked at Jacob more than a little pissed off but grateful none the less no doubt from the thought of being freed from the handcuffs. Jacob helped him to his feet and he went off to find Ethan or Blake. Jacob ran his hand through his brown hair, which was slightly messy from just having woken up and slowly getting longer as it was now nearing his eyebrow length. What had gotten into him? He had hurt Brummond just to get him to cooperate with him. Jacob had never been much of a leader but it seemed since the outbreak had started that his friends, and even some of the adults, had been looking to him specifically for guidance. He didn't especially want to be any sort of leader but if that was what it took to make people feel safer he supposed he could muscle through. He hoped he didn't continue his attitude that had been on display just now with Brummond. He didn't want to be a leader through pain and fear but he knew why he had been acting like that. The damn scenario. That was the real reason he had to go out into the newly infested outside world. To kill a damn zombie based on the information of a fucking voice in his head during his dream. He wanted the scenario to leave him forever so badly he was willing to try anything to make that happen. It was beginning to drive him insane.

"You ok there handsome?"

Jacob nearly jumped out of his skin as he was torn from the ever potent thoughts of the scenario. He turned quickly to see Alex standing behind him. A small smile crept across his face as all thoughts of the scenario were completely wiped from his mind, for the time being at least.

She was wearing her rectangular glasses, which Jacob had always liked on her. Her brown hair had lightened slightly due to summer fun in the sun and a recent trip to her hairstylist had add a few tinges of blond into her hair which was now pulled back in a loose ponytail. She had on a pair of jeans and an old pair of Chuck Taylor shoes with quite the amount of personalized artwork on them. Her outfit was completed by a black T-shirt that said Nebraska-Wesleyan University: Home of the Prairie Wolves on it. He took one long step towards her and gave her a light but caring kiss on the lips.

"Morning sunshine," he said to her as he began to walk towards the auditorium's stage with her at his side, "finally get a good night's sleep?" Alex had been suffering from lack of sleep ever since the rescue of the survivors at Save More a little more than a week ago.

"What do you think?" she said, looking at him and even though the look she gave him held several days of restless sleep she still looked amazing to him. "I mean it's a little better now that I'm not sleeping surrounded by a bunch of old guys like I was at Save More." Jacob let out a loud laugh at this and everyone in the auditorium looked at them. Laughing had become almost a foreign concept to most of the inhabitants here since the outbreak and it made Jacob feel better about himself because he still could laugh, even more so after the way he had treated Brummond.

"Well I suppose we can have that to be thankful of," Jacob responded as his laughter was slowly subsiding. He put his arm around her, realizing he had to tell her what he planned. His smile had left his face. "Look Alex I think Brummond and me are gunna have to go outside soon." Jacob watched as the smile on her face melted away then the one on his.

"You can't be serious Jacob. Do you really want to die that much?"

"Hey I take offense to that; you know how much I have studied the z-apocalypse."

"Jacob this is serious!" She shouted and again people looked at the couple, this time more confused because last time they looked up the two had been laughing, "I don't need you being sarcastic right now. What you want to do is suicide."

"I have to do this," Jacob said in a tone that was in between a whisper and an average indoor voice, "Brummond needs those 'cuffs off or he could die of infection."

"Oh bull Jacob, why is it that you have to be the one to risk your life to get a key from a zombified cop. I know there is some other reason. Tell me." Alex looked at him with a little concern but it was mainly reserved for the anger that had begun to pump through her veins. Jacob looked away from her searching green eyes and looked into the kitchen where a makeshift bed had been made for the injured Kent Tranmer. From what Fleischman had told him things weren't looking up for him. "Jacob don't ignore me."

"Why can't helping him be enough Alex?" He asked quickly turning back to meet her eyes. His voice had elevated slightly.

"Because I've been dating you long enough for me to know when you are lying and something is bothering you." A single tear leaked out of her emerald eyes. Jacob just shook his head and hopped off the auditorium stage.

"Just let it go Alex…please."

…

When Jacob found Brummond he was sitting with Blake in the kitchen as it was there shift to keep an eye on Kent. He leaned on the refrigerator that had ceased to work and looked at Brummond. He seemed almost afraid of Jacob after what had happened earlier. Brummond was more than twice the size, muscularly, than Jacob. There should be no reason in hell he should look even remotely scared by him and yet there it was, subtly but it was there. What was it in Jacob's eyes that were changing?

"We should go sooner rather than later Brum." Jacob said quietly.

"I'm going with you guys to." Blake sound quietly before Brummond could respond. "Brummond can't protect himself, let alone have your back until he gets out of those 'cuffs." Blake was standing now and he seemed to think everything was ready to go.

"Blake I appreciate but we really need to limit our numbers out there A. so as to make as little noise as possible and B. because the more people that I take the more obvious it is that we left at all." Jacob looked at Blake with his blue eyes, trying to look as caring as possible but knowing that deep down the look those eyes carried were getting darker.

"I don't understand why Brummond has to go then. Take me instead of him. Why does it have to be Brum?"

"It just does Blake O.K." To be honest he had no idea why Brummond was going at all. Blake was right, it made much more sense to bring him then an incapacitated Brummond but ever since his most recent trip to his own little patch of paradise, and especially after hearing that Voice he just had a feeling Brummond had to go. He pushed his hand through his hair, unable to quit that nervous habit, and looked at Brummond. "I know you're not exactly thrilled about going out there especially the way your all tied up but trust me it has to be you." Brummond was staring at Jacob when he finished and nodded.

"Alright Jacob let's just get it done so I can get some sleep tonight." He rose up, slightly awkwardly but getting better at doing it with his hand behind his back 24/7. Hopefully that would be the last time he would need to. They looked at Blake, nodded to him and walked away to begin prepping for their mini adventure. Neither of the saw the look Blake gave them as they walked away, and neither probably would have wanted to. It was a mix of anger and sadness which was always a dangerous blend. That day Jacob made the correct choice to take Brummond with him, the necessary choice. Looking back at the end of it all though he will pinpoint this exact moment and ask himself one question. What if?

…

It hadn't taken long for them to get ready. Jacob had filled his backpack with a few bottles of water and an assortment of granola bars just in case something went wrong and they couldn't make it back for a few nights. He had also grabbed one of the sharpened metal rods. Some of the men had been continually sharpening them so they would make a kill easier if necessary. It was basically a sword. He thought of the scenario. They had snuck out the same back door they had when they went on their scavenging trip. No one had noticed because nearly every breathing person aside from his friends and a sprinkling of other adults were now attending Reggie, or 'Father as he now preferred to be called, Walker's so called sermons nightly. Jacob had heard a few of them from a distance and they pretty much seemed like scare tactics to get the other survivors to listen to anything Reggie said. This worried the ones who didn't believe in "the Word of Walker."

"How long do you think this will take?" Brummond asked as he trudged close by Jacob, completely unarmed.

"Hopefully he hasn't made it far from where he turned. With any luck, an hour or less. How hard could he honestly be to find, he's as big as a blimp." Jacob looked at Brummond. He was laughing. Neither was Jacob. They turned away from Main Street as one of the ghouls lumbered into sight. They got to the road that ran parallel to it and hid behind a house. They watched the thing lumber towards them for a few seconds and then stop and begin to turn around. Jacob let a breath in and then out swiftly. The air was foul with the stench of death. He wanted this done quickly.

…

Blake hadn't moved from his spot next to Kent since Jacob and Brummond had left him there. That look of anger and sadness still on his face. His head was in hands and his mind was racing. _'What was wrong with me going? Am I just not good enough for Jacob or Brummond anymore?'_ Blake's mind went to the TV show _LOST._ There was a point in the first season where the character Charlie Pace had accused main character of Jack Shepard of never being good enough to go with him and a few others on their A-Team missions. Maybe that was what was happening here. Blake wasn't good enough for the A-Team.

"Something bothering you my son?" a cool voice stung into Blake's ears and he looked up quickly to see Reggie Walker standing in front of him, hands clasped behind his back and Blake had no doubt in his mind that in one of the hands was Reggie's precious King James Bible.

"Is there something you want 'Father' Walker?" Blake retorted, putting an obvious sarcastic emphasis on Reggie's "Father" title. Reggie let out a light hearted chuckle that almost made Blake think he wasn't a monster.

"Please son, you don't need to call me Father. Reggie is fine." He spoke softly, almost kindly as he wheeled a chair over and now sat across from Blake, left leg crossed over the right. "Would you care to tell me what's on your mind?"

"You mean like a confessional don't you." Blake said as his eyes travelled up and down the bible thumper with contempt. Reggie tossed out another light hearted chuckle.

"No this would be a straight man to man talk."

"Man to man? What is with all the calling me son then?"

"I believe," Reggie began as he shifted his left leg down and crossed his right one over, "that in times like this someone can be both." Reggie seemed satisfied by this analogy and let another smile appear across his face. If Blake didn't know any better he would say it was a friendly smile. Is it possible that they had misjudged Reggie and that, while a little on the religious side, he was an O.K. guy?

"Look Reggie I'm not really up to talking about anything." Blake looked over to the ever worsening Kent Tranmer.

"Very well Blake." Reggie said as he stood up and began walking away.

"Father Walker," Blake said as he pulled his eyes away from Kent and look at Reggie who had stop and turned back to Blake, "I'm just worried about my friends, but thanks for the offer." Blake gave a friendly smile back to Reggie.

"If you ever need anything Blake, you know where to find me." Reggie smiled and turned and left. Blake looked around the kitchen, now deep in thought. Maybe Reggie really wasn't all that bad. Maybe Jacob was wrong.

…

Reggie sat in his office, silently reading his bible when there was a rapping at the door. Reggie looked up from his readings, always slightly perturbed whenever he was interrupted from the good book.

"Come," he said quietly already knowing who it was. Sure enough Alan Westmire slid into the room by barely opening the door and squeezing through. "Honestly Mr. Westmire don't you think that you sliding in here like that every time is a little more obvious than just walking in."

"I suppose it might be Father Walker." Alan said while rubbing the back of his head in what could have been embarrassment. "How did the talk with the kid go?"

"He'll come around," Reggie replied while standing up and walking across the room to look at a portrait of Jesus that he had found, "the Bryant kid definitely went out with the one in the 'cuffs though."

"You're sure Father?" Alan asked. Reggie shot him an angry look.

"You think I'm not competent of getting information Alan?"

"No sir. Never sir."

"Good and yes I am sure. No one has seen either of them for a while. They no doubt went to get the key to those handcuffs. The question is why they didn't ask for help" Reggie said while turning back to his small desk and sitting down.

"S'pose is was a good idea that you already sent me out right Father?" Alan asked almost like he was fishing for a complement.

"Yes," Reggie said as he flipped to the Book of Revelations, "yes I suppose you are right." He pulled a key from the pages and held it in the candlelight. It was a key to police issue handcuffs.


	7. Misery Loves Company

**Uprising**

**Chapter 7**

**Misery Loves Company**

It was purely a crime, the night so still. To think that the world was spinning so soundly, as if nothing was wrong, was in short, an atrocity. To Josh and Jordan, nothing was ever going to be the same. All they knew, all their dreams, non existence in this new era of fear and death. The night air so clear, the stars so bright, no one could yet tell the true horror this vast world was concealing. But, in reality, this wasn't such a drastic switch for "normal" in this somewhat sinister place. Everyday in the history of mankind, this expansive planet has concealed so sort of fear and evil, if even just a touch. The nature of death and human emotion combined to make this world, a world considered by many to be generally good, a sort of hell to some of it's inhabitants. To most people, this goes unnoticed; to most people, they never have to experience true fear, true uncertainty, or true sorrow; and most people spend much of their time praying they never have to. It was no longer an option for Josh or Jordan, nor to anyone left for that matter. It had become something more tangible, something everyone could grasp. It was something everyone was going to have to if they wanted to survive, if they wanted to start anew, if they wanted to outlast…..this apocalypse.

…

In did in fact offer a small semblance of comfort. The fact that the whole world wasn't ablaze with fire and floods did at least keep Josh calm enough in the moment. Nothing around the highway gave any indication that disaster was upon them, that was left up to their minds. Josh just drove silently down the dark path, staring forward, mind fixed on the events of the night. He couldn't help but wonder, _were these going to be his last memories of his life_? Jordan's thoughts were eerily similar.

Occasionally, they would glance over at one another, but couldn't find words. They had just lost a friend; not only lost was Paul, but consumed by this malevolent curse. A good man overtaken by evil, what's new?

Josh looked out over the vast plains of the Nebraska landscape. In the real world it was overlooked, sometimes mocked, but it did give an aura of peaceful openness. It wasn't breathtaking as some vistas are, but was beautiful in it's own small way. He and Jordan were 10 minutes outside the city, 10 minutes since they'd lost their friend, and 10 minutes since they'd said a word to each other.

As they crested a hill they could see more dim lights hazing over a small valley. Waverly.

Jordan stopped fiddling with the lighter in his hands, Paul's lighter, and glanced up at the light. "There it is," He said in soft voice. "I hope there's some left." He flicked the spark several times and looked over to Josh.

"Oh I bet." Josh had no idea what they would find in this tiny little outskirt. It could in fact be a disaster. He didn't want worry Jordan more than he already was. He said it for his own benefit as well, he did his best to stay positive. "There'll be a group of survivors I'm sure, it might even be a safe haven for all we know. Maybe that's why there was that blockade, maybe they wanted to keep the infected out." Josh's voice got stronger as he said this, he was starting to believe his own random, speculative muses. He wasn't opposed.

"You think?" Jordan replied.

"Yeah, I really do."

They were nearing closer and closer to this "shining star" in the valley of darkness. Their morale was higher than they expected, they began to think that maybe, just maybe, they could survive this.

Jordan looked away from Josh, out the window. "What are we doing…" He said as despair returned to his voice.

"What do you mean?" Josh took his eyes off the road and over to Jordan.

Jordan sighed. "We don't know what the hell we're doing here. We have no idea what's up ahead. How're we gonna survive just us two? Two teenagers?"

"That's why we'll find a larger group, some people who know what they're doing." Josh tried to calm Jordan but he realized that it was essentially wasted efforts.

"We don't even know if there _is _gonna be another group!" Jordan's tone turned to anger and frustration.

"Jordan, there will be, I'm sure of it. There has to be." Josh turned back to the road. The light was getting slightly brighter, they passed by a dark gas station with a tattered American flag hanging loosely in front.

"I just don't understand." Jordan said. He looked back out the window and pointed to the dark station. "That's how it's all gonna be. Deserted. The only things left are those damn zombies, those damn infected." He looked back down to the lighter in his hands and shook his head. "I just don't understand how you can have any sort of a positive outlook after what happened."

Josh perked up. He felt almost like this was a personal front against him, he was offended in some way but he didn't know why. "You said it yourself Jordan, some family will help us out or something. We can make it, just trust it."

"I hope I'm wrong then. For once Josh, I hope to God that your right and I'm wrong." They looked at each other and Jordan grinned for a second, but shook his head and sighed again. He rested it against the window.

They passed by a small diner and a car lot. It was the impound for Lincoln, why it was in Waverly was slightly unclear. They sped past and glanced at the green sign indicating that they had reached the town's limit. It read, _Waverly Pop. 1,227._ Josh let up on the accelerator a bit and slowed the truck, he spun the wheel and they made the turn off the highway, and were headed toward the light. Josh tightened his grip on the steering wheel and adjusted his posture in the chair. "Here we go."

…

It was all the same. Waverly, no different than Lincoln. They had traversed the small town several times and found no signs of safety, no signs of security. Main street was that of which you would expect in a small little town, old, but it did have character. There were a few street lights on around the main areas of town, a few were out. The buildings were dark, as were the houses. As Josh and Jordan drove around, they often swore they saw dark shapes, dark figures in the blackness of backyards and open lots, but couldn't be for sure. They were just happy they hadn't encountered the monsters straight up yet, though part of them knew it was coming at some point.

Josh turned back up past the main road in town and started back into the circle they had made three times already. Jordan spoke up. "Ohh yeah, now I happen to be right." He shook his head and scratched the back of his neck. "We should probably just leave then and keep going, we have enough supplies right? I mean it makes sense to me, lets just keep going before we run into trouble."

Josh ruffled his face in frustration. "Dammit!" He veered the beat up truck into a parking lot and threw it in reverse. Josh pounded the accelerator and they skidded backwards until they were facing the opposite direction. "Your right. But where else can we go?" Josh again let the car continue at a slow pace, looking out upon the area, hoping he could spot something promising.

"I have no idea. We ok on gas?"

Josh replied looking at the dash. "Should be, half a tank I think. It's a little hard to read though."

"We can just keep driving town to town I guess. " Jordan let off another giant sigh.

As the two continued along the cracked pavement in the truck something caught their eye. They looked at each other and back at source that was sparking their curiosity. It was a house, just down the road and nestled into some trees. There was a light flicking on and off through the window, a flashlight most likely. It was a message, a code.

"Would you look at that." Josh shook his head and smiled. His heart began to beat faster with excitement, he was again filled with hope.

"Dear Lord…" Jordan whispered. "Thank you." He too smiled as Josh sped the vehicle up.

As they continued it became clear that the house was father down the road then they had first expected. It was on the outer rim of a small, shabby neighborhood. It was apparent that it was old. Two stories, but with an old farmhouse feel to it. The only source of light coming from it was the small flickering flashlight in the bottom window closest to the front door. The two felt safe for the first time since the night began.

They neared the house on the corner, their safe house, and Josh drove passed slowly to check things out. "What are you doing?" Jordan asked as they cruised by, his voice with sincere wonder.

Josh replied with an assertive tone. "I figure we should scan the area first, can't be to careful right? You of all people, Jordan, should understand what I mean."

"I guess." Jordan peered behind Josh's head to get a better view of the house. "I don't know, I just wanna feel safe dude. I don't wanna have to worry, I just wanna relax for awhile you know? The sooner the better…"

They passed the house and Josh looked over to Jordan. He shook his head in agreement. "Me too. But we always have to be careful, very careful." He pulled the car around a corner and looked back at the house a minute. Something was odd. In the top window, the attic most likely, there almost looked to be a figure in the window, but it was way to dark to fully distinguish. He gazed apprehensively for a few more seconds and moved the truck forward again. "Alright looks pretty good to me." He said still a little unsure of the situation. he was going to have to get use to the fact that he was never totally going to shed all of his anxiety, not under these circumstances.

"Yeah, it does." Jordan replied, his voice still soft as if he were whispering.

Josh sat up in the drivers seat and tried to adjust his comfort level. "Alright then we'll go around and see what's up."

Jordan looked with a grin. "Can't wait."

Josh too smiled a bit. Their mood was at a higher level than they had hoped coming in. The feeling of sheer loneliness had left them. This sense of security wouldn't last long.

They came from the shadows as the truck spun the corner around main street. Dozens and dozens had finally noticed the boys' presence and began the hunt. They were slow as usually, but were no doubt infected and no doubt bloodthirsty. Josh was shocked, he sped up. "Not now…. oh shit." It happened so quickly, quicker than they ever expected it would. The menacing beasts were spilling out of the stores and houses near them, they were no longer hidden by the shadows. What gave their presence away now, was unclear. Josh and Jordan didn't concern themselves with trivial worries like that, they were too busy dwelling on the panic at hand. Josh stepped on the gas but the zombies filled every path, they pounded on the truck as they were smashed, they clutched the hood as Josh drove the truck right through their lifeless bodies. The moans were piercing. The truck continued to rumble over bodies, they tried to secure themselves in the vehicle but were continually thrown about like rag dolls as they collided with body after body.

Jordan looked frantically, he looked for an escape. He noticed the fear building in Josh at the drivers seat. "Where do we go! How do we get out!" He yelled, he was thinking out loud.

Josh swerved through as best as he could, but the truck was taking a pounding. The frame was bent to hell and the door hinges were loosening. When those came off, it was game over. Josh raised is voice in reply. " I don't know, I don't know, they're FUCKING EVERYWHERE!"

More of the zombies stumbled from the darkness. Josh continued to maneuver the vehicle but the paths around them were closing quickly. Anguish shot through his body as he realized that if he hadn't of been so careful, so cautious, they'd be safe and holed up in the house right now. He was fairly sure now that they were going to die, to him, their doom was certain.

The next few moments were a blur to the two boys. As Josh spun the truck through another small group of zombies, he lost all control. They tried to secure themselves but there was no time, it happened in an instant. The truck flipped over a downed street lamp laying across the road. It rolled at least 4 times, each time more and more scrapes were sent flying from it. It finally ceased in the backyard of a small trailer home. The truck was upended, it was mangled beyond recognition. Gas was leaking all about, their survival cache strewn all across their path.

The remaining zombies slowly flocked to the scene. Much to Josh's displeasure, he snapped back after a short bout of unconsciousness. He would have much rather have died in the wreck than be torn to shreds by these monsters. His body was instantly flooded with pain, he was laying in an awkward position across the airbag. He couldn't exactly tell, but something very heavy was resting on top of him, it was Jordan. Josh struggled to free himself through the pain, he could hear the moans and cries as the zombies tried to sift through the wreckage to find their next meal. He managed to writhe out form under Jordan's limp body but was still somewhat stuck in the cage of metal. The leg that he was sure was broken was now surprisingly lessening in pain; he was filled with cuts across his face and arms, but as of now, it all seemed superficial. He grabbed the shotgun that was tangled up in the shattered windshield and began to really grasp the situation. The daze of the crash had left him and full panic ensued.

He adjusted his position and started to shake Jordan. The zombies still hadn't managed to find a way into the wreck, they were mindless and stupid, that was their biggest disadvantage. He didn't want to wait around though, he shook harder. He had no idea the toll Jordan's body had taken from the crash, he wasn't sure if he even survived, but he would've never forgiven himself if he didn't try to save him- after all, in his mind, he too was to be dead soon.

The seconds ticked and the stress built, he struggled to rouse his friend, calling and shaking simultaneously. After what seemed like ages in the depths of the wreck, Jordan began to move. His face was gashed, his arms stained with blood. He awoke with an instinctive groan. He continued rap in pain as he further was pulled back to reality.

"Jordan! Jordan! Hurry we gotta move." Josh said with surprising calmness. Jordan didn't seem to process the situation. Josh continued. "Jordan, if we wanna live we have to go! You've gotta move. I know your hurt but fight through, just fight!"

Jordan began to whisper, it was all the strength he could muster at the moment. "I ain't done yet don't worry. But my fucking knee hurts…bad"

The group of undead had sort of clumped around the wreckage, they couldn't get in but didn't know what else to do with themselves. They stood and crawled all around the area, milling about as if they were desperately hoping for ideas to come to their minds- the good news was, that was never going to happen. The boys were going to have to clear a path, and most importantly, they were going to have to do it quickly.

Josh began to tug Jordan through the metal and across the crumpled seats. He grunted as his strength began to wane. He held the shotgun in one hand and pulled Jordan by the shirt with his other. The crash had made him weak, it was a struggle. Jordan began to regain some semblance of self-reliance and started to shimmy along the ground, taking some of the pressure off Josh. It was evident to Josh that Jordan was in serious pain, his injuries were much more severe than Josh's, but Jordan continued to summon the courage to move under his own power. Josh helped him move until they both laid at the edge of the crash. A small, twisting frame of metal was the only thing separating them from the pawing arms of the zombie hoard outside. Josh stuck the shotgun out and discharged it into a couple that had gotten too close. It managed to knock them back and blew a few limbs off, but the infected yet continued. They were going to have to be struck in the head if they were to be down for good. More spilled and filled the void left by the blast and again Josh shot. More limbs, more blood. A third shot and he decided that now was the time, he grabbed Jordan with one arm and they wriggled out from under the truck. Again Jordan grunted with pain, he began to shuffle to his feet as Josh slammed to butt of the shotgun into several more zombies.

"Jordan, we gotta move!" Josh screamed as the seemingly endless band of beasts mindlessly clawed at them. They fought off arms, and Josh blew off a few heads; Jordan managed to limp to his feet and they made some progress, he picked up a large chunk of metal and beat the zombies off as they groped all over him.

It was quite fluent, their escape. These boys who hardly knew what true confrontation was were casting away these monsters with more ease than expected, maybe it was adrenaline, the will to survive; maybe it was the fact that these weak infected beings were hardly formidable in a one on one fight. As the group thinned, things got easier.

Josh took out four or five more zombies with the last two loaded shots in the gun, they had put some separation between themselves and their assailants. Jordan limped beside as they cut their way further into the trailer neighborhood they had stumbled upon. They began to believe that maybe death wasn't quite so certain. Not surprisingly, though, things only got worse. As they turned to run, or jog with the strength they had left, another group of zombies sandwiched them in. The sheer numbers had finally caught up to them. They lost hope again but continued to bash and slash as the zombies approached. They were outmatched and they knew it, but they wouldn't go down without a fight.

Just as the ghouls closed all avenues of escape and all of their hopes were dashed, again, their luck resurfaced. They were blinded with light as the area around them was suddenly flooded with an blanket of brightness. They heard the drone of an engine and several shots were fired. Dozens of shots began to fill the darkness and the zombies beside them began to drop in pools of blood.

"RUN! COME TO THE LIGHT!" A voice yelled from the darkness, it was deep and distinguished, no doubt a man's voice. Gunshots continued to ring and Josh swung Jordan's arm over his neck.

"Come on! You've gotta help me. Lets move!" They limped along together making slow but significant progress to the light. As the fire continued to rain around them they made it to the source. Two bleary figures stood with guns blazing on the path they had just crossed. The source was a floodlight system mounted sloppily onto the roof of a dingy old suburban. The figures began to bark instructions to the boys as they neared the vehicle but neither could make anything out, their ears were taxed from the barrage of gunfire. Nonetheless, they knew instinctively what they had to do, get in the car and get the hell to safety. Nobody was going to have to tell them twice.

They reached the vehicle and were greeted with the comforting visibility that was brought with the light. Josh struggled to open the back door of the car and as a result swung it open with significant force when it did happen to jar loose. The air was beginning to grow thick with the stench of the infected, the undead. Josh helped Jordan slide his body across the backseat and looked back to their saviors. Their figures became more clear as they back pedaled toward the running vehicle, their guns stilling firing as they went. It became clear to Josh as they neared the car that one was a man, and the other was a woman. Josh shoved Jordan over across the leather bench seat it the suburban and got in himself. The man hustled to the drivers side, he ripped open the door and got in, the woman got in as well. Things were frantic but under control at the same time, these people knew how to protect themselves. The man continued to fire his handgun out the window at the group of zombies as they sped by. This town that was seemingly deserted when Josh and Jordan arrived, was now a teeming mass of infected civilians.

The car's engine was hardly audible over the panting lungs of the four survivors in the car. As they all collected themselves, the woman looked back at Jordan and Josh in the backseat. Her hair was long and dark, her face was smeared with small amounts of blood and dirt. Despite these conditions, she was pretty. She proceeded to stare back at the boys, a long, concerning gaze that of which you would expect to see a mother show to her children. She looked like she may have wanted to say something more important, but said only what you would expect in a dire situation like this.

Her blue eyes sparkled and her voice sounded sincere. "Are you two hurt bad? Did any of them bite you, infect you?" Josh was sure that he hadn't been bitten or infected but still searched his body for any bite marks that were unbeknownst him. Jordan checked himself as well, but he was less thorough in his search than Josh.

"No." Josh said with a slow rasp in his tired voice. "These are all from the crash."

The woman looked up at the man, silent in the drivers seat, and back at Josh. "Is he ok?" She motioned over to Jordan. Josh opened his mouth to answer but much to his surprise Jordan opened his eyes and spoke.

"Yeah, I'll be ok. My knee is just a little messed up. I'll be fine."

"Oh." The woman's voice was soft and calming. She grinned a bit and looked back to the man in the drivers seat. Neither Josh or Jordan could get a good look at the man, he was broad and tall, that was all that they could make out at that point. She spoke in a whisper to him, as if she was hoping the boys wouldn't hear, but the car was silent enough that her voice was clear as day.

"Robbie, where are you going? What about the safe house?" Neither Josh or Jordan had noticed at first but they had escaped the town and were on the road again. The zombies were left behind them, and the comfort of the open landscape lay ahead.

The man spoke for the first time. He, on the other hand, realized that whispering was pointless and spoke up with clear precision. His voice was low and bellowing. "Trust me, it's not safe, we can't go back there."

The woman began to protest. "But…"

He cut her off. "We go to plan B." The floodlights above the vehicle were lighting their surroundings quite well, they had made it a decent distance from the town.

She looked back to Josh and then to Jordan and quickly swung her head back to the man. "What….? What is…plan B?"

The man looked her in the eyes. "The Barn." He said in a flat tone. That answer seemed to appease her curiosity and she went quiet for a few minutes. In the backseat, Josh checked on Jordan's leg.

"Which one is bothering you?" He asked. He faked a concerned tone. It wasn't that he didn't care about Jordan, he just felt weird tending to his friend.

Jordan motioned to his right as he lay half sprawled across the back seat. It was cut up and bruised fairly bad, but nothing looked too terrible. He decided it had to be internal, bone or ligament. He looked to Jordan and had no idea what to say to him. "Just hang in there." Jordan didn't respond.

…

The hum of the wheels along the highway had become the only things that filled their ears. A couple of times, Josh could see the woman mouthing things to the man in the drivers seat, she had finally realized that it was impossible to whisper in the soundless car. Josh decided that he didn't want to be left in the dark anymore, if he and Jordan were going to survive with these people, they were going to need to connect.

"What's this barn?" He said in a loud, nondescript voice. The woman turned back to respond but the man spoke before she had a chance.

"That's the barn." Josh was puzzled and looked out the window. He saw a faint light shining in the window of what looked to be an old shed. It was a ways off but it seemed to stand out in the blackness quite distinctly.

"It's safe?" He asked.

"Should be."

As they got closer, Josh peered into the forest that was that was building up around the road. There was no light to reveal the true features of the woods, but the craggy outline of the maples and cottonwoods that sprouted from the ground was enough to split his emotions.

The forest gave him a sense of security in that it protected them from the openness. It felt to him like a barrier from the virus, a barrier from his fears. It also, at the same time, struck a bit of worry inside his gut. In this blackness, in this dark, one could only imagine what a vast labyrinth like this forest could be concealing. It was a fear that intensified in the minds of everyone in the car ( whether they acknowledged it or not ), and everyone left alive; the fear of the unknown, this fear of uncertainty.

And so Josh continued to gaze into the dense blackness, fighting the urge to react to the dark figures he so often swore he saw.


End file.
